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I agree completely with this. Keep in mind that true evil is MBS ordering the murder of journalist Khasshogi. True evil is invading and conquering Crimea. True

by joelx 7y ago

I agree completely with this. Keep in mind that true evil is MBS ordering the murder of journalist Khasshogi. True evil is invading and conquering Crimea. True evil is murdering your generals with anti-aircraft guns or watching dogs tear them apart while still alive. Serving banner ads across sites does not even remotely compare.

cj 7y ago
Did you just compare Google's advertising business to assassination, murder, and war crime?
- NeonVice 7y ago
  He was contrasting them.
- shrikant 7y ago
  He literally said they do not even compare.
CoolGuySteve 7y ago
Yes and no, some of the projects mentioned in the article, like Project Dragonfly, involved developing the kind of censorship tools necessary to prop up dictators like the ones you mentioned. That’s not whining imo, that’s standing up to exactly the breed of ‘True Evil’ you define here. We have seen this before in tech: Nazi Germany was probably IBM’s second largest customer at the time. There is a moral imperative to not let something like that happen again. We should all be disturbed that the executive team at Google felt that Project Dragonfly was appropriate.
- andonisus 7y ago
  My opinion is that someone is going to be providing that service, so it might as well be me (better the devil you know than the devil you don't).
  - komali2 7y ago
    Exactly the reasoning used by arms dealers.
    - andonisus 7y ago
      The world is not absolute. It would be nice to be able to take an absolutist, moral stance against things I disagree with. But as I get older, I realize that one must be able to compromise and see in shades of grey.
      - komali2 7y ago
        Compromise is important, and one doesn't need to go the way of the Sith, but giving in on your morals is pretty much what leads to problems in this world.
        andonisus 7y ago
        I agree! But also being able to compromise so that you still can wield influence is important. For example, if an American company (such as Google) does not fill the need for this service for China, that leaves the door open for other countries to fill this void -- countries which America might not want to be furnishing this service.
- RestlessMind 7y ago
  So by that logic, US and like minded allies should ban their industries from working with China / Russia / Middle Eastern dictatorships? Are you advocating for complete trade barriers? If not, why single out Google when Apple / Walmart / ... are allowed to benefit from Chinese market?
molteanu 7y ago
...or invading and destroying countries and countless communities across the globe with a smile on your face. I agree with you completely!
tropicalia 7y ago
true evil is... This is a straw man argument. The critique made of Google is not that has come to embody "true evil". But that it has (by degrees) slouched towards moral ambivalence, and acquiescence of (yes) evil. Serving banner ads across sites does not even remotely compare. I think you are perfectly aware that Google is engaged in a lot more than simply the business of serving banner ads.
GoodJokes 7y ago
Google enables the US military industrial complex. The US military is pretty evil relative to your above examples. Also, internet ads are way more evil than you think. You know why the news and Facebook suck no. Ads! Profit driven news on the back of a internet ad industry dominated by google. Get a clue.
lowdose 7y ago
True evil would be if the Kremlin were to warn about the threat posed by Belgium or France to Russian security and the need to contain this threat and even declaring a national emergency. Like the USA did in their backyard, "that little region over here" aka South America. Crimea was a very logical step after NATO kept violating the promise made to never move an inch geographical beyond Berlin.
wruza 7y ago
True evil is also believing all crap that yellow press and country-level echo chambers produce and then to bring it at someone’s table. While I completely disagree with a commentor who calls “not interested in politics” an euphemism, as if they were disgusting and uneducated, your set of scary factoids likely falls right into this category.
chepaslaaa 7y ago
true evil is threatening countries who wont sell oil strictly for USD with nuclear warfare

by joelx 7y ago

cj 7y ago

Did you just compare Google's advertising business to assassination, murder, and war crime?

NeonVice 7y ago
He was contrasting them.
shrikant 7y ago
He literally said they do not even compare.

CoolGuySteve 7y ago

Yes and no, some of the projects mentioned in the article, like Project Dragonfly, involved developing the kind of censorship tools necessary to prop up dictators like the ones you mentioned. That’s not whining imo, that’s standing up to exactly the breed of ‘True Evil’ you define here. We have seen this before in tech: Nazi Germany was probably IBM’s second largest customer at the time. There is a moral imperative to not let something like that happen again. We should all be disturbed that the executive team at Google felt that Project Dragonfly was appropriate.

andonisus 7y ago
My opinion is that someone is going to be providing that service, so it might as well be me (better the devil you know than the devil you don't).
- komali2 7y ago
  Exactly the reasoning used by arms dealers.
  - andonisus 7y ago
    The world is not absolute. It would be nice to be able to take an absolutist, moral stance against things I disagree with. But as I get older, I realize that one must be able to compromise and see in shades of grey.
    - komali2 7y ago
      Compromise is important, and one doesn't need to go the way of the Sith, but giving in on your morals is pretty much what leads to problems in this world.
      - andonisus 7y ago
        I agree! But also being able to compromise so that you still can wield influence is important. For example, if an American company (such as Google) does not fill the need for this service for China, that leaves the door open for other countries to fill this void -- countries which America might not want to be furnishing this service.
RestlessMind 7y ago
So by that logic, US and like minded allies should ban their industries from working with China / Russia / Middle Eastern dictatorships? Are you advocating for complete trade barriers? If not, why single out Google when Apple / Walmart / ... are allowed to benefit from Chinese market?

molteanu 7y ago

...or invading and destroying countries and countless communities across the globe with a smile on your face. I agree with you completely!

tropicalia 7y ago

true evil is... This is a straw man argument. The critique made of Google is not that has come to embody "true evil". But that it has (by degrees) slouched towards moral ambivalence, and acquiescence of (yes) evil. Serving banner ads across sites does not even remotely compare. I think you are perfectly aware that Google is engaged in a lot more than simply the business of serving banner ads.

GoodJokes 7y ago

Google enables the US military industrial complex. The US military is pretty evil relative to your above examples. Also, internet ads are way more evil than you think. You know why the news and Facebook suck no. Ads! Profit driven news on the back of a internet ad industry dominated by google. Get a clue.

lowdose 7y ago

True evil would be if the Kremlin were to warn about the threat posed by Belgium or France to Russian security and the need to contain this threat and even declaring a national emergency. Like the USA did in their backyard, "that little region over here" aka South America. Crimea was a very logical step after NATO kept violating the promise made to never move an inch geographical beyond Berlin.

wruza 7y ago

True evil is also believing all crap that yellow press and country-level echo chambers produce and then to bring it at someone’s table. While I completely disagree with a commentor who calls “not interested in politics” an euphemism, as if they were disgusting and uneducated, your set of scary factoids likely falls right into this category.

chepaslaaa 7y ago

true evil is threatening countries who wont sell oil strictly for USD with nuclear warfare