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Apple is fundamentally about making Nice Phones, and are among the least morally complicated organizations in the US. If we followed your way, we'd be banning o

Apple is fundamentally about making Nice Phones, and are among the least morally complicated organizations in the US. If we followed your way, we'd be banning over half the country from occupation. Just look at the moral complexity of the US armed forces, which is entangled in stories of collateral damage from drone strikes, burning of opium fields in Afghanistan, or hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths in Iraq.

genocidicbunny 5y ago
The armed forces is a bad comparison. They have a fundamentally different mission than any given corporation. There are different moral tradeoffs to be made there. Not to say I agree with the US armed forces' actions -- but comparing the US armed forces to Apple is a bit disingenuous.
easygenes 5y ago
I think, at it's core and what drives most people to work there, is Apple is fundamentally about improving humanity's experience through computing. I don't mean that as a buzzword soup either. They're the most valuable company in the world for a reason. It also means they're the spotlight for all the moral dilemmas we face as a global society more deeply integrating computing into our daily lives. So I have to disagree. Apple is trying to take a stand saying, "We will be proactive about policing the one activity that nearly everyone considers morally reprehensible," and tacitly they're saying in that, "This is more important than our whole mission to bring privacy back to computing users." Because what they're building completely invalidates that. They're effectively saying that -- as of August 5, 2021 -- Apple is privacy-hostile. Then to connect that back to their true mission, or what anyone working for the most powerful computing company in the world ought to consider their true mission: they're about improving the human condition through computing. Working for Apple now signals that you believe humans are better off without privacy. Buying from Apple now signals that you believe humans are better off without privacy. Apple is privacy-hostile. It doesn't have to stay that way. There can still be some pride in making short the number of days from August 5, 2021 to the day that Apple makes a stand for the liberty of all humans to feel secure in their ability to use computers in all forms without an ever-watchful million unknown eyes over their shoulder.

genocidicbunny 5y ago

The armed forces is a bad comparison. They have a fundamentally different mission than any given corporation. There are different moral tradeoffs to be made there. Not to say I agree with the US armed forces' actions -- but comparing the US armed forces to Apple is a bit disingenuous.

easygenes 5y ago

I think, at it's core and what drives most people to work there, is Apple is fundamentally about improving humanity's experience through computing. I don't mean that as a buzzword soup either. They're the most valuable company in the world for a reason. It also means they're the spotlight for all the moral dilemmas we face as a global society more deeply integrating computing into our daily lives. So I have to disagree. Apple is trying to take a stand saying, "We will be proactive about policing the one activity that nearly everyone considers morally reprehensible," and tacitly they're saying in that, "This is more important than our whole mission to bring privacy back to computing users." Because what they're building completely invalidates that. They're effectively saying that -- as of August 5, 2021 -- Apple is privacy-hostile. Then to connect that back to their true mission, or what anyone working for the most powerful computing company in the world ought to consider their true mission: they're about improving the human condition through computing. Working for Apple now signals that you believe humans are better off without privacy. Buying from Apple now signals that you believe humans are better off without privacy. Apple is privacy-hostile. It doesn't have to stay that way. There can still be some pride in making short the number of days from August 5, 2021 to the day that Apple makes a stand for the liberty of all humans to feel secure in their ability to use computers in all forms without an ever-watchful million unknown eyes over their shoulder.