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Can we call this the Oppenheimer Syndrome? I see so many opinion pieces from software engineers lamenting how they've created this "horrible thing" by working o
by hnarn 6y ago
Can we call this the Oppenheimer Syndrome? I see so many opinion pieces from software engineers lamenting how they've created this "horrible thing" by working on social media recommendation algorithm X, and it all fits neatly into this painfully predictable trope of how we should all live in a camper and use a Nokia from the 90s.
Yeah, I'm jaded and of course there's merit at the bottom of all this, but I really can't be arsed to read another high and mighty essay about how one person in the course of their duty led the entirety of humanity astray by recommending what people are engaged by online.
- Merman_Mike 6y agoThese pieces also bother me. We're supposed to praise these people for coming forward or something? This guy spent years of his life making the world a worse place to live in, while taking home a fat salary, and now has somehow found his moral compass and wants to let us know. Yeah, no thanks.
- CM30 6y agoI really want to write an article now where I say how my work as a web developer/software engineer has made the world a better place, and why we should be happy with modern technology and the internet as it is today. Of course I've not worked at Facebook or Google, so maybe it'd be better if we saw a Facebook or Google engineer write that sort of article instead. Would be interesting to hear from someone who loves the company they work for, thinks their work improves humanity and considers their tech the coolest thing in the world.
- kbelder 6y agoThe engagement engine doesn't end at YouTube. It's always active, everywhere, and this type of article exploits it.