I think those mental gymnastics are the result of cognitive dissonance. There's discomfort resulting from the idea that some action could be unethical in a non-

I think those mental gymnastics are the result of cognitive dissonance. There's discomfort resulting from the idea that some action could be unethical in a non-obvious way to someone intelligent enough to be in the tech industry (this is sheer hubris and ignorance of course), or that intelligence does not lead to ethical behavior; or the idea that ethics could or should limit either innovation or income; or the idea that externalities are unacceptable exploitation, i.e. it really is someone else's problem. And like any ordinary person, people are resolving the discomfort with dismissal. The history of the hippocratic oath shows that despite its age, it didn't really become popular in medicine until 1000 years after it was written. Seems reasonably likely there was quite a lot of mental gymnastics in the medical profession, arguing against an oath.