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People really seem to be sharpening the axe for our big tech companies these days. Personally I find it disturbing. These companies are a river of prosperity fo

People really seem to be sharpening the axe for our big tech companies these days. Personally I find it disturbing. These companies are a river of prosperity for our people, especially software developers

Gibbon1 7y ago
Um... Only software developers.
- frockington1 7y ago
  And human resources departments, and finance departments, and investors, and people with 401ks, and people who depend on taxes, and anyone who sells goods etc... They produce a lot of value to the US economy
  - dvdhnt 7y ago
    > and people who depend on taxes What is that supposed to mean? We all depend on taxes. Have you heard of public infrastructure? NASA? DoJ? It's super disingenuous to pretend that the average employee is somehow getting massive value from giant tech companies. Someone would need to be very (probably intentionally) oblivious to believe that.
    - forgotmyhnacc 7y ago
      OP meant people employed by local city and state governments, that the tech company resides in probably.
dgudkov 7y ago
Big tech companies maybe don't put kids into mines, but they have other ethical issues (privacy, manipulation with public opinion, etc). I don't think anyone can reliably tell that their issues are more ethical or less ethical than child slavery.
- qaq 7y ago
  "I don't think anyone can reliably tell that their issues are more ethical or less ethical than child slavery" are you seriously comparing targeting algorithms and child slavery and children dying in mining accidents?
  - dgudkov 7y ago
    I suppose you seriously underestimate the harm it causes, and its scale. Hint: chasing "user engagement" boosts extremism and violence.
afandian 7y ago
This sounds like an argument I hear about the nuclear deterrent in the UK. "This brings jobs to the area". There are plenty of serious discussions about the existential threat posed / mitigated / whatever by nuclear weapons without mixing in the incidentals like this. Of course it wins votes. Big companies a century ago made a lot of cash out of exploiting slave labour overseas. And, I'm sure, plenty of people thought they couldn't live without whatever commodity they were getting for cheap on the back of foreign lives. This hasn't stopped. We need to keep the dialogue open. The axes should be just as sharp for the new colonial powers. Maybe it seems like there's a never-ending stream of history to be on the wrong side of, but that can't be an impediment to action. (Apologies if the parent comment was satyrical)

Gibbon1 7y ago

Um... Only software developers.

frockington1 7y ago
And human resources departments, and finance departments, and investors, and people with 401ks, and people who depend on taxes, and anyone who sells goods etc... They produce a lot of value to the US economy
- dvdhnt 7y ago
  > and people who depend on taxes What is that supposed to mean? We all depend on taxes. Have you heard of public infrastructure? NASA? DoJ? It's super disingenuous to pretend that the average employee is somehow getting massive value from giant tech companies. Someone would need to be very (probably intentionally) oblivious to believe that.
  - forgotmyhnacc 7y ago
    OP meant people employed by local city and state governments, that the tech company resides in probably.

dgudkov 7y ago

Big tech companies maybe don't put kids into mines, but they have other ethical issues (privacy, manipulation with public opinion, etc). I don't think anyone can reliably tell that their issues are more ethical or less ethical than child slavery.

qaq 7y ago
"I don't think anyone can reliably tell that their issues are more ethical or less ethical than child slavery" are you seriously comparing targeting algorithms and child slavery and children dying in mining accidents?
- dgudkov 7y ago
  I suppose you seriously underestimate the harm it causes, and its scale. Hint: chasing "user engagement" boosts extremism and violence.

afandian 7y ago

This sounds like an argument I hear about the nuclear deterrent in the UK. "This brings jobs to the area". There are plenty of serious discussions about the existential threat posed / mitigated / whatever by nuclear weapons without mixing in the incidentals like this. Of course it wins votes. Big companies a century ago made a lot of cash out of exploiting slave labour overseas. And, I'm sure, plenty of people thought they couldn't live without whatever commodity they were getting for cheap on the back of foreign lives. This hasn't stopped. We need to keep the dialogue open. The axes should be just as sharp for the new colonial powers. Maybe it seems like there's a never-ending stream of history to be on the wrong side of, but that can't be an impediment to action. (Apologies if the parent comment was satyrical)