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I know this is avoidable, and I know it’s a semi-regular occurrence, and I can recognize Google’s moderation problem is non-trivial, but I really can’t shake th

I know this is avoidable, and I know it’s a semi-regular occurrence, and I can recognize Google’s moderation problem is non-trivial, but I really can’t shake the feeling that Orwell was off by a letter and the future will truly just be a bot stamping on a human face forever.

quantified 5y ago
Skynet doesn’t need Terminators. Software bots can keep us busy all on their own.
- 8ytecoder 5y ago
  You don't even need bots - simple sorting algorithms do more damage. It shows human vulnerability more than anything else. All it took was a single fake message to get 600 people killed in Burma.
  - Kim_Bruning 5y ago
    Do you have a good reference for this? I'd like to use it in future discussions :-)
    - Willish42 5y ago
      This took me a minute to figure out, mostly because I didn't immediately intuit that "sorting algorithm" == Facebook and "Burma" == Myanmar. I believe they're referencing Facebook's role in the Myanmar coup: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55929654 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55929654 (reference for "600" as the death toll: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56703416 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56703416)
closetohome 5y ago
You'd think Google breaks into your house, uploads your data, and deletes the originals. Think of cloud accounts like any other form of backup. Two is one, one is none. Hard drives die, cloud services come and go. No backup is forever.
- mdoms 5y ago
  This is exactly how Google markets Drive. Go visit https://www.google.com/drive/ https://www.google.com/drive/ in a private browsing window and take a look for yourself. > Your content is safe, private, and never used for ad personalization > And Drive is cloud-native, which eliminates the need for local files and minimizes risk to your devices. > Your important work, files, and precious memories are protected by our industry-leading security. You can rest easy knowing that the things you care about are stored safely in the cloud. If Google markets a product in a specific way I don't think it's unreasonable to criticize Google when they fail to live up to that marketing.
- blincoln 5y ago
  Google does similar things with files stored in the corporate G-Drive product, which is supposed to be a replacement for on-premise file servers (i.e. there is likely no other copy of the data). At a previous job, we had a forensic image of a compromised laptop stored in G-Drive. Google blocked access to it because of the malware on the disk. No "no, really, this is important and I need to download it, I acknowledge the risks" button, nothing. Good thing the person who uploaded it hadn't deleted the original copy yet.

quantified 5y ago

Skynet doesn’t need Terminators. Software bots can keep us busy all on their own.

8ytecoder 5y ago
You don't even need bots - simple sorting algorithms do more damage. It shows human vulnerability more than anything else. All it took was a single fake message to get 600 people killed in Burma.
- Kim_Bruning 5y ago
  Do you have a good reference for this? I'd like to use it in future discussions :-)
  - Willish42 5y ago
    This took me a minute to figure out, mostly because I didn't immediately intuit that "sorting algorithm" == Facebook and "Burma" == Myanmar. I believe they're referencing Facebook's role in the Myanmar coup: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55929654 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55929654 (reference for "600" as the death toll: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56703416 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56703416)

closetohome 5y ago

You'd think Google breaks into your house, uploads your data, and deletes the originals. Think of cloud accounts like any other form of backup. Two is one, one is none. Hard drives die, cloud services come and go. No backup is forever.

mdoms 5y ago
This is exactly how Google markets Drive. Go visit https://www.google.com/drive/ https://www.google.com/drive/ in a private browsing window and take a look for yourself. > Your content is safe, private, and never used for ad personalization > And Drive is cloud-native, which eliminates the need for local files and minimizes risk to your devices. > Your important work, files, and precious memories are protected by our industry-leading security. You can rest easy knowing that the things you care about are stored safely in the cloud. If Google markets a product in a specific way I don't think it's unreasonable to criticize Google when they fail to live up to that marketing.
blincoln 5y ago
Google does similar things with files stored in the corporate G-Drive product, which is supposed to be a replacement for on-premise file servers (i.e. there is likely no other copy of the data). At a previous job, we had a forensic image of a compromised laptop stored in G-Drive. Google blocked access to it because of the malware on the disk. No "no, really, this is important and I need to download it, I acknowledge the risks" button, nothing. Good thing the person who uploaded it hadn't deleted the original copy yet.