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My theory is that every technology goes through a period of experimentation before it’s clear how it should be employed. That’s why we had project plowshare fo

My theory is that every technology goes through a period of experimentation before it’s clear how it should be employed. That’s why we had project plowshare for the bomb and now internet connectivity for every imaginable device, even ones that only need an on-off switch. I am a bit mystified why we need connected toothbrushes, but I very much applaud the spirit of experimentation, even if it sometimes gives us toothbrush-powered botnets.

Levitating 3y ago
Is it really experimentation or just slapping a higher price tag onto a device for added wifi connectivity. How do we sell our product X for more? Just add wifi and AI. You can do it with almost anything.
082349872349872 3y ago
First they came for *The Onion* And I did not speak out For I was not an Onion writer Then they came for *Black Mirror* And I did not speak out For I was not a Mirror writer Then they came for Horselover Fat... The sanity is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.
nonrandomstring 3y ago
> every technology goes through a period of experimentation before it's clear how it should be employed. Sure, but as I said here yesterday [0] experimentation is something that has far reaching consequences, and that's why professional scientists have codes of ethics that seem quite absent in the tech world. Also, as far as the Internet goes, we've had maybe 40 years of time to "experiment". There comes a time for results, conclusions and some sort of maturity in outcomes. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=39253045 https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=39253045
axus 3y ago
No need to teach your children honesty, when you can just spy on their toothbrushes.
thomastjeffery 3y ago
We're not taking about experimentation, though. We're talking about a fully hashed-out business model with its own casual acronym (SaaS). The "why" is obvious: there is a market for any aggregate data on human behavior.

Levitating 3y ago

Is it really experimentation or just slapping a higher price tag onto a device for added wifi connectivity. How do we sell our product X for more? Just add wifi and AI. You can do it with almost anything.

082349872349872 3y ago

First they came for *The Onion* And I did not speak out For I was not an Onion writer Then they came for *Black Mirror* And I did not speak out For I was not a Mirror writer Then they came for Horselover Fat... The sanity is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.

nonrandomstring 3y ago

> every technology goes through a period of experimentation before it's clear how it should be employed. Sure, but as I said here yesterday [0] experimentation is something that has far reaching consequences, and that's why professional scientists have codes of ethics that seem quite absent in the tech world. Also, as far as the Internet goes, we've had maybe 40 years of time to "experiment". There comes a time for results, conclusions and some sort of maturity in outcomes. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=39253045 https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=39253045

axus 3y ago

No need to teach your children honesty, when you can just spy on their toothbrushes.

thomastjeffery 3y ago

We're not taking about experimentation, though. We're talking about a fully hashed-out business model with its own casual acronym (SaaS). The "why" is obvious: there is a market for any aggregate data on human behavior.