4 ms·
This gives me the same strong negative impression as the Citizen and Nextdoor apps. The idea makes sense in some abstract theoretical way, but in practice this
by uoaei 6y ago
This gives me the same strong negative impression as the Citizen and Nextdoor apps.
The idea makes sense in some abstract theoretical way, but in practice this will simply reflect the biases of users by representing the subjective "sketchiness" of (typically) poorer areas, leading to gentrified travel routes that siphon yet more business away from communities who could really use it.
- qorrect 6y ago"gentrified travel routes that siphon yet more business away from communities who could really use it" <- that made my day kudos.
- celim307 6y agoI don’t doubt that happens but the flip side is that in my area the food trucks and mom and pop locations have been getting a big boost from people in the neighboring gentrified neighborhood giving them shout outs or sharing job opportunities. My neighbor has started selling her mother’s tamales starting on next door and now has enough business to stop working in an Amazon warehouse. My area is probably not representative of most Nextdoor communities however
- uoaei 6y agoThat's awesome! I am only speaking out because I get the sense from this community (and having worked in the tech industry for long enough) that such externalities are not really considered when designing apps like this one. The other comments give a hint to the proportion of time that these concerns and issues are discussed. I see all the time only the consideration of "could" without any regard for "should".
- floren 6y agoIt is currently using openstreetmap data to determine if a street is lit or not. There is no user feedback declaring a place "sketchy".
- uoaei 6y agoThat's good and I hope it stays that way. I also hope that OSM data remains faithful to real conditions, and that other factors such as poor street/sidewalk quality, etc. which can have significant correlation with underserved communities aren't included in the app in the future.
- leetcrew 6y agoas other commenters have mentioned, the project currently defines "safe" as "well-lit" and does not take any other factors into account. the potential next steps listed do not involve asking users for their opinion on what areas are sketchy. while it's important not to conflate "poor" with "unsafe", I don't think it's unreasonable or unfair for individuals to try to avoid walking around in areas with a higher rate of violent crime. as long as the service makes a good faith attempt at objectivity, I don't feel there is anything wrong with a service providing this sort of information. crime maps might be a good place to start looking for data.
- LudwigNagasena 6y agoIt is sad how everything nowadays is expected to be curated by PMCs with degrees in social work because everyone else is considered too stupid to not be biased.
- uoaei 6y agoNot stupid, just uncritical. I could share with you many stories from FAANG privacy compliance groups about how little engineers think about the impacts of their releases.
- anonunivgrad 6y agoMaybe I care more about not being mugged than doing racial justice in where I choose to walk. Certain neighborhoods being crime-infested hellholes is not my problem.
- uoaei 6y agoFalse equivalence, and false dichotomy. Poorly argued point.