4 ms·

a great of this I suspect is post hoc rationalisation - we find a higher order rationale to explain our choice (presuming availability of choice) of employer, i

a great of this I suspect is post hoc rationalisation - we find a higher order rationale to explain our choice (presuming availability of choice) of employer, in order to preserve our self perception of being a moral actor, when we likely made the decision mainly on practical grounds. Engineers might also have this mental process to make - would you work for Palantir (example) and build spyware for the CIA? You might for the money, and then explain to yourself that its for good of country

schoen 4y ago
When I clicked on this Economist article, there was actually a CIA recruiting ad displayed (!!).
- hunglee2 4y ago
  haha very good. And then...no surprise. Pretty sure natsec and establishment media have already a tight relationship
- the_only_law 4y ago
  Last time I saw a CIA job it was for a very niche skill set and they pay range was not reasonable for DC.
CobrastanJorji 4y ago
I imagine the Google engineer thinks "well, at least I'm not at fucking Facebook." And the Facebook engineer thinks "well, at least I'm not at fucking Palantir." And the Palantir engineer thinks "well, at least I'm not at fucking Tik Tok." And the Tik Tok engineer thinks "oh man I love video processing almost as much as I love malware, and I fucking love malware."
- benreesman 4y ago
  Fucking lol. You should make that a meme with the grizzly bear in the snow. Slight correction: at least when I was at Facebook, we said: "At least I'm not at fucking Uber." Palantir didn't even have an on-site sushi chef, and I've heard that the agave hibiscus iced tea there wasn't even real agave. ;)
- Ekaros 4y ago
  I think TikTok engineers think. Hey we aren't doing any more spying than Google et. Co...
- vintermann 4y ago
  I remember one high profile ML engineer who went really ballistic on his peers at Facebook due to holding them responsible for Trump's election. He worked at Google himself.
- the_only_law 4y ago
  Shit I love malware, maybe I should apply to TikTok.
smabie 4y ago
I think that's definitely true of some people, but I think for a lot of people just helping the world isn't super important to them. I'm a pretty practical person and don't think what I do is really helping anyone (though I don't think it really hurts either, though I'm sure many would disagree) but don't really care. I find what I do very mentally stimulating and it also has large upside potential. That's simply good enough for me.
- hunglee2 4y ago
  yep that is a perfectly reasonable (and perhaps in the end, most moral) position to take. It is probably a healthy thing to refocus on your immediate self, or at least oscillate between that and taking a wider view upon occasion.

schoen 4y ago

When I clicked on this Economist article, there was actually a CIA recruiting ad displayed (!!).

hunglee2 4y ago
haha very good. And then...no surprise. Pretty sure natsec and establishment media have already a tight relationship
the_only_law 4y ago
Last time I saw a CIA job it was for a very niche skill set and they pay range was not reasonable for DC.

CobrastanJorji 4y ago

I imagine the Google engineer thinks "well, at least I'm not at fucking Facebook." And the Facebook engineer thinks "well, at least I'm not at fucking Palantir." And the Palantir engineer thinks "well, at least I'm not at fucking Tik Tok." And the Tik Tok engineer thinks "oh man I love video processing almost as much as I love malware, and I fucking love malware."

benreesman 4y ago
Fucking lol. You should make that a meme with the grizzly bear in the snow. Slight correction: at least when I was at Facebook, we said: "At least I'm not at fucking Uber." Palantir didn't even have an on-site sushi chef, and I've heard that the agave hibiscus iced tea there wasn't even real agave. ;)
Ekaros 4y ago
I think TikTok engineers think. Hey we aren't doing any more spying than Google et. Co...
vintermann 4y ago
I remember one high profile ML engineer who went really ballistic on his peers at Facebook due to holding them responsible for Trump's election. He worked at Google himself.
the_only_law 4y ago
Shit I love malware, maybe I should apply to TikTok.

smabie 4y ago

I think that's definitely true of some people, but I think for a lot of people just helping the world isn't super important to them. I'm a pretty practical person and don't think what I do is really helping anyone (though I don't think it really hurts either, though I'm sure many would disagree) but don't really care. I find what I do very mentally stimulating and it also has large upside potential. That's simply good enough for me.

hunglee2 4y ago
yep that is a perfectly reasonable (and perhaps in the end, most moral) position to take. It is probably a healthy thing to refocus on your immediate self, or at least oscillate between that and taking a wider view upon occasion.