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I am but one atom in a molecule in a drop in an ocean, but I have pledged to never be involved in the hiring of any person who has had any willing association w
by dpratt 5y ago
I am but one atom in a molecule in a drop in an ocean, but I have pledged to never be involved in the hiring of any person who has had any willing association with any organization responsible for efforts similar to Pegasus, with no exceptions. I will also immediately resign any job that violates the above as well. Trends like this are not to be taken lightly - for the first time in human history, the concept of an all encompassing tyrannical dystopia is a realistic possibility, and you deceive yourself if you think that there aren’t very very powerful people that get an almost erotic thrill at this possibility. Contributing to the advancement and deployment of this technological capability is the very definition of a violation of whatever meager ethics our profession possesses, and should be taken as essentially a credible threat against literally every other living person.
- systemvoltage 5y agoI can't get behind bifurcation of job market based on what political side you belong to. This seems destructive at best, dangerous at worse. It's like the classic Palantir vs Google argument. I won't hire anyone if they show any sort of activism at work.
- dpratt 5y agoThis is not a political argument. If you willingly participate in the construction and deployment of technological systems that are designed to be used to monitor, suppress and ultimately threaten the physical security of people who are non-violently opposed to the current group of people in power, you have essentially declared yourself an enemy of mankind, and I choose to personally act accordingly.
- systemvoltage 5y agoWould you hire a plumber if they worked at an ammunitions factory before?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- dpratt 5y agoThis is not a correct analogy. There are multiple legitimate and moral usages of ammunition. A better comparison would be to ask if I would hire someone who worked for the East German Stasi, or someone who had helped to build the systems used to identify, target and kidnap dissidents in mainland China. Edit: Additionally, no, I would not hire an ammunition manufacturer who produced ammunition knowing that the entirety of his output was exclusively purchased by a government for the exclusive purpose of assassinating those who were non-violently opposed to said government.
- systemvoltage 5y agoGood point, and the NSO example from OP is definitely extreme. But it rings alarm bells for me. It is year 2025 and there are distinct and two separate job markets. One cannot cross the line because your resume reflects your political choice. This kind of dystopia sucks and I am gonna push back as much as I can. OP's tone was definitely about activism and I can't stand behind it at all. Also ammunitions producers have no idea where the ammunitions are used. It could be for saving lives in a hostage situation or assassination. Don't blame Intel for making processors that are then mounted on missiles that kill people. This is exactly what's wrong with illiberal ideology.
- caf 5y agoOnce the rockets are up Who cares where they come down? That's not my department Says Wernher Von Braun
- dredmorbius 5y agoKeep in mind that one mechanism for control is to slowly suck someone into a scheme over time. I'm sure this has a name, or many names, though I'm not aware of it. A friend had a professor at uni who'd been recruited to join a deep-sea scientific mission which was an absolutely incredible opportunity: a phenomenally well-appointed ship, newly constructed, a large scientific crew, and funding was completely assured. He went on the project, returned home, and read much later in the paper that he'd been part of the cover mission for the recovery of the sunken Soviet submarine K-129, aboard the Glomar Explorer. According to the professor, he'd had absolutely no inkling of that mission. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_Explorer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_Explorer That's one method. The one used by Saddam Hussein as he executed (so to speak) his 1979 coup was rather more direct, and is explained here by Christopher Hitchens: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CR1X3zV6X5Y https://youtube.com/watch?v=CR1X3zV6X5Y During WWII, numerous individuals turned on their own countrymen, comrades, and fellow Jews, as Quislings, collaborators, and capos, through a mix of threats and rewards. And of course, various paths toward corruption are seen all the time in gangs, business, government, institutions, and other contexts. That said, I'd have a very hard time working with anyone who is still working for a Facebook, Google, Amazon, Oracle, Palantir, AT&T, Verizon, or numerous other firms in the surveillance capitalism space today.
- Atreiden 5y agoPreach! This should not be misconstrued as a partisan issue. Those who desire these outcomes will make every attempt to conflate it with one political movement or another. They'll appeal to auth sensibilities and moral panics. It must be made clear that these represent efforts by the powerful to squash dissent and free society. It is an attack on the rest of humankind.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- throwawayboise 5y agoMost of what Facebook and Google have developed could be used to do these things. In fact it has been used to do those things, perhaps with the exception of the physical threat. But monitor and suppress? Yes. Is everyone who worked on this stuff also an enemy of mankind?
- dpratt 5y agoWhile I find what Google and Facebook do personally distasteful, it would be foolish and short-sighted to assume everyone who had worked there was complicit. It’s one thing to be an employee at a giant company that does a multitude of things, one of which when misused can present a threat, and an entirely different thing to sign up to work at a place who’s product’s _intended use_ is to support tyranny.
- newbie789 5y agoIs “not wanting to work with surveillance” an example of a political opinion from the left, or from the right? It kinda just seems like a personal preference.
- dpratt 5y agoIt’s entirely apolitical. I view it as entirely identical to a refusing to hire anyone who had been a chemist at a tobacco company.
- fastball 5y agoWhat if you're a chemist at a tobacco company trying to make the cigarettes people are already addicted to more healthy?
- systemvoltage 5y agoYea I mean how often do you come across a resume that has NSO on it. I am attacking the underlying tone of political activism in hiring committees. This seems deeply oppressive to me and signals 'internal rot' in corporations.
- Epa095 5y agoDo we somehow stop beeing moral beeing when we are at work? I thought that whole discussion were settled 65 years ago. But I notice that you are using the term "political activism", so maybe its rather that you find this particular cause not worthy of a real moral issue, its merely "political activism"? And if so, what causes would actually be important enough for you that you would consider them relevant for you, even at work?
- ruraljuror 5y agoUnless I am missing some irony in it, the last sentence contradicts the preceding claims. Denying activism ia activism itself; you are enforcing a reactionary culture.
- systemvoltage 5y agoIt was deliberate and I realize it.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]