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Why is this topic so popular on HN? I'm just curious because there are so many social problems and actual politics news in the world but somehow this is always

Why is this topic so popular on HN? I'm just curious because there are so many social problems and actual politics news in the world but somehow this is always up here.

sergiomattei 7y ago
Well, we're a crowd of mostly technology enthusiasts, developers, and scientists. This is very related to the topic of HN - we're witnessing the (worry-inducing) birth of an oppressive technology-fueled dystopian society.
- slg 7y ago
  But it is strange that there is a lot of discussion about the slippery slope of what happens when this tech falls into the wrong hands. Meanwhile there is relatively little discussion about things that get us closer to the government actually being the "wrong hands".
  - stcredzero 7y ago
    But it is strange that there is a lot of discussion about the slippery slope of what happens when this tech falls into the wrong hands. Not strange at all. One can already see a lot of abuses of such technological power in the US through the exploitation of political affiliations or connections. We've already slipped down the slope, and we've already seen the fingerprints of those hands. Meanwhile there is relatively little discussion about things that get us closer to the government actually being the "wrong hands". The government has checks and balances. Though those are imperfect, they can be used as tools to check the overstepping of power. There are also laws against the government censoring speech. The popular refrain among technologists is that it only pertains to Free Speech if the government is doing it, and it's just private businesses doing their justified activities when tech giants do it. What's wrong in principle is still wrong, even if laws and societal wisdom are lagging technology. Large swathes of the populace feel their voice is being stifled against their wishes, and many can't even spend their money to support who they wish to without overcoming barriers put in place by powerful corporate actors. That's not people losing/winning in a free marketplace of ideas. That's willful manipulation of the free marketplace of ideas.
darawk 7y ago
Because this is the sort of thing that actually matters. The latest police brutality incident or Trump tweet don't really matter. Technology like this will determine the contours of civilization for centuries to come, if we're lucky enough to survive that long. Exactly how and by whom these technologies are deployed are the most important decisions being made right now (aside, perhaps, from climate-change related policies).
- dvtrn 7y ago
  They don’t matter to you or they don’t matter at all? Just looking for clarification.
  - darawk 7y ago
    They don't matter to the longer run view of civilization.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - dvtrn 7y ago
      Interesting. Thanks.
- thereare5lights 7y ago
  > The latest police brutality incident You mean it doesn't fucking matter to YOU and people like YOU! It sure as fuck matters to the people on the receiving end.
  - darawk 7y ago
    It doesn't matter to the long run view of civilization, as I already clarified. The premise of your criticism is also pretty silly - China's high tech surveillance platform matters substantially less to me personally than whatever it is that Trump is up to.
CountSessine 7y ago
So you don't want to hear about this at all? Because my news feed still features plenty of news about other things. One mention about this every week or so is too much for you? And there aren't a lot of other countries that currently have a million members of an ethnic minority in concentration camps. And tech/AI is an integral part of this oppression. How is this not news?
- beenBoutIT 7y ago
  We don't actually know much at all about what China does to people in its concentration camps, although the US State Department says it's the worst abuses it's seen 'since the 1930s'. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rights/us-says-chinas-treatment-of-muslim-minority-worst-abuses-since-the-1930s-idUSKBN1QU23W https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rights/us-says-chinas...
tdb7893 7y ago
It's a social problem that both liberals and libertarians care about (both decent sized populations here in my experience) and is also related to technology. It would be weird if it wasn't popular here.
- beenBoutIT 7y ago
  It would be equally weird if China didn't have a few sympathetic people expressing pro-China sentiment in online discussions linked to anti-China articles.
  - raxxorrax 7y ago
    True, although this is not an anti-China article.
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mutzp 7y ago
It's a feelgood topic. People here are programmers, technologists, investors, etc and they feel responsible for this. So they come here, condemn it, and leave.
sonnyblarney 7y ago
Because the a mega power is using advanced technology to lock up people based on ethnicity by the 100's of thousands is definitely news worthy.

Why is this topic so popular on HN? I'm just curious because there are so many social problems and actual politics news in the world but somehow this is always up here.

sergiomattei 7y ago

Well, we're a crowd of mostly technology enthusiasts, developers, and scientists. This is very related to the topic of HN - we're witnessing the (worry-inducing) birth of an oppressive technology-fueled dystopian society.

slg 7y ago
But it is strange that there is a lot of discussion about the slippery slope of what happens when this tech falls into the wrong hands. Meanwhile there is relatively little discussion about things that get us closer to the government actually being the "wrong hands".
- stcredzero 7y ago
  But it is strange that there is a lot of discussion about the slippery slope of what happens when this tech falls into the wrong hands. Not strange at all. One can already see a lot of abuses of such technological power in the US through the exploitation of political affiliations or connections. We've already slipped down the slope, and we've already seen the fingerprints of those hands. Meanwhile there is relatively little discussion about things that get us closer to the government actually being the "wrong hands". The government has checks and balances. Though those are imperfect, they can be used as tools to check the overstepping of power. There are also laws against the government censoring speech. The popular refrain among technologists is that it only pertains to Free Speech if the government is doing it, and it's just private businesses doing their justified activities when tech giants do it. What's wrong in principle is still wrong, even if laws and societal wisdom are lagging technology. Large swathes of the populace feel their voice is being stifled against their wishes, and many can't even spend their money to support who they wish to without overcoming barriers put in place by powerful corporate actors. That's not people losing/winning in a free marketplace of ideas. That's willful manipulation of the free marketplace of ideas.

darawk 7y ago

Because this is the sort of thing that actually matters. The latest police brutality incident or Trump tweet don't really matter. Technology like this will determine the contours of civilization for centuries to come, if we're lucky enough to survive that long. Exactly how and by whom these technologies are deployed are the most important decisions being made right now (aside, perhaps, from climate-change related policies).

dvtrn 7y ago
They don’t matter to you or they don’t matter at all? Just looking for clarification.
- darawk 7y ago
  They don't matter to the longer run view of civilization.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - dvtrn 7y ago
    Interesting. Thanks.
thereare5lights 7y ago
> The latest police brutality incident You mean it doesn't fucking matter to YOU and people like YOU! It sure as fuck matters to the people on the receiving end.
- darawk 7y ago
  It doesn't matter to the long run view of civilization, as I already clarified. The premise of your criticism is also pretty silly - China's high tech surveillance platform matters substantially less to me personally than whatever it is that Trump is up to.

CountSessine 7y ago

So you don't want to hear about this at all? Because my news feed still features plenty of news about other things. One mention about this every week or so is too much for you? And there aren't a lot of other countries that currently have a million members of an ethnic minority in concentration camps. And tech/AI is an integral part of this oppression. How is this not news?

beenBoutIT 7y ago
We don't actually know much at all about what China does to people in its concentration camps, although the US State Department says it's the worst abuses it's seen 'since the 1930s'. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rights/us-says-chinas-treatment-of-muslim-minority-worst-abuses-since-the-1930s-idUSKBN1QU23W https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rights/us-says-chinas...

tdb7893 7y ago

It's a social problem that both liberals and libertarians care about (both decent sized populations here in my experience) and is also related to technology. It would be weird if it wasn't popular here.

beenBoutIT 7y ago
It would be equally weird if China didn't have a few sympathetic people expressing pro-China sentiment in online discussions linked to anti-China articles.
- raxxorrax 7y ago
  True, although this is not an anti-China article.

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mutzp 7y ago

It's a feelgood topic. People here are programmers, technologists, investors, etc and they feel responsible for this. So they come here, condemn it, and leave.

sonnyblarney 7y ago

Because the a mega power is using advanced technology to lock up people based on ethnicity by the 100's of thousands is definitely news worthy.