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"Apple, and the tech industry more generally, has embraced a particular approach to philanthro-capitalism, one in which the products they profit from are presen

"Apple, and the tech industry more generally, has embraced a particular approach to philanthro-capitalism, one in which the products they profit from are presented as powerful forces for good themselves" This is a bit of an overlooked tidbit that I haven't seen "discussed" before much, or even articulated before. Tech industry people for the most part really do genuinely believe that the things they build and profit from are inherently forces for good, that they "improve" the world in some way, usually however is defined by marketing. Even when the reality is in stark contrast. Are the things we make really improving the world like we think they are? Do things like Facebook and Twitter truly enrich our lives, or do they prey on our psychological need for community and attention in order to sell our "data" to advertisers. Does a new $SMARTPHONE or $COMPUTER make the world "better" every year? Or does it simply compel people to buy the "new shiny" as the "old" is pushed out to pollute landfills and poison 3rd world countries. Being in tech we live in an extremely isolated bubble. Quite literally, for most of us. We live in "tech hub" alcoves like Silicon Valley or Seattle with our climate controlled, Wi-Fi enabled existence. We work in ivory towers for wages that many would only dream of, with comforts that even the richest could only dream of a hundred years ago. Of course even though it's a bubble, we can still see outside it. So we naively project the world we want out around it, our values and assumptions on how to fix it. We "make the world a better place" by shipping millions of "$100 laptops" to 3rd world countries. We have billionaires pledge to fix crises like Flint's drinking water. We have our companies act as extensions of ourselves with LGBT representation in "pride month"

0db532a0 7y ago
Here’s a great TEDx talk: https://youtu.be/9cflCyyEA2I https://youtu.be/9cflCyyEA2I.
scarface74 7y ago
Yes, the smart phone has improved the lives of many people in developing countries and even poorer people in developed countries. It has enabled safer mobile payments in developing countries for people without access to the banking infrastructure and now they have access to information that they couldn’t have. Even in the US you see semi-homeless and homeless people who have cell phones that they use to reply to job ads and resources. Between the private sector and the government, the private sector is much more on the side of the angels these days when it comes to advocating for racial and religious minorities as well as the LGBTQ community than the government. By nature of both the electoral college, gerrymandering, and each state no matter what its population having two Senators, the government doesn’t represent the will of the people in the US. Business has one motivating principle - profit. I can deal with that much better than politicians who while they are motivated by money also and PACs, they also get re-elected by pandering to people with a belief system that isn’t in the best interests of anyone who does not fit with their definition of a “model American”.
tonyedgecombe 7y ago
Quite literally, for most of us. I'm willing to bet most people on Hacker News don't live in Silicon Valley, we don't work for a FAANG, don't earn six figure salaries. But maybe you do. Or does it simply compel people to buy the "new shiny" as the "old" is pushed out to pollute landfills and poison 3rd world countries. Hasn't the complaint amongst analysts been that people are keeping their phones longer. Isn't this what is driving Apple's push towards services. I don't see environmental groups publishing charts showing phone use is driving climate change instead of travel or agriculture. Given a choice between the antics of the tech industry vs those of the oil industry I'll take tech any day even if some of the are arseholes like Zuckerberg.

0db532a0 7y ago

Here’s a great TEDx talk: https://youtu.be/9cflCyyEA2I https://youtu.be/9cflCyyEA2I.

scarface74 7y ago

Yes, the smart phone has improved the lives of many people in developing countries and even poorer people in developed countries. It has enabled safer mobile payments in developing countries for people without access to the banking infrastructure and now they have access to information that they couldn’t have. Even in the US you see semi-homeless and homeless people who have cell phones that they use to reply to job ads and resources. Between the private sector and the government, the private sector is much more on the side of the angels these days when it comes to advocating for racial and religious minorities as well as the LGBTQ community than the government. By nature of both the electoral college, gerrymandering, and each state no matter what its population having two Senators, the government doesn’t represent the will of the people in the US. Business has one motivating principle - profit. I can deal with that much better than politicians who while they are motivated by money also and PACs, they also get re-elected by pandering to people with a belief system that isn’t in the best interests of anyone who does not fit with their definition of a “model American”.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

Quite literally, for most of us. I'm willing to bet most people on Hacker News don't live in Silicon Valley, we don't work for a FAANG, don't earn six figure salaries. But maybe you do. Or does it simply compel people to buy the "new shiny" as the "old" is pushed out to pollute landfills and poison 3rd world countries. Hasn't the complaint amongst analysts been that people are keeping their phones longer. Isn't this what is driving Apple's push towards services. I don't see environmental groups publishing charts showing phone use is driving climate change instead of travel or agriculture. Given a choice between the antics of the tech industry vs those of the oil industry I'll take tech any day even if some of the are arseholes like Zuckerberg.