3 ms·

FWIW, I think people are getting confused because this is framed as a technology story, not a story about the inhumane conditions in sweatshops. I feel like thi

by tqi 2y ago

FWIW, I think people are getting confused because this is framed as a technology story, not a story about the inhumane conditions in sweatshops. I feel like this framing is common in a lot of news stories (big tech being the villain du jour), and is unhelpful because it causes folks who otherwise agree with each other to fixate on the "is technology bad or is it neutral" angle, which gets in the way of any actual agreement or progress.

Dylan16807 2y ago
The part that is new is technology making things worse. To me that qualifies as a technology story.
madeofpalk 2y ago
No, this framing is exactly right. It highlights how Y Combinator and tech companies are complicit in the inhumane conditions of sweatshops. You don't get to create this product and then absolve yourself of its negative impact of it.
- tqi 2y ago
  But that's my point - Y Combinator and tech companies are complicit in the inhumane conditions of sweatshops, the how is irrelevant to why it is bad. But framing it as a story about "AI" and "machine vision" just causes people to argue about the technology. [1] Y Combinator supports an AI startup that's pitching granular machine vision surveillance of factory workers.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    > But framing it as a story about "AI" and "machine vision" just causes people to argue about the technology. It's relevant because this furthers this idea that current early AI technology is not about making the world a better plance and is instead used to accelerate the worst aspects of humanity. Sadly, the abuse of workers is not a novel idea. So the conversation should be more towards how we establish an ethical attitude towards how we make use of LLM's
    - tqi 2y ago
      > It's relevant because this furthers this idea that current early AI technology is not about making the world a better plance and is instead used to accelerate the worst aspects of humanity. Can't it be about both?

by tqi 2y ago

Dylan16807 2y ago

The part that is new is technology making things worse. To me that qualifies as a technology story.

madeofpalk 2y ago

No, this framing is exactly right. It highlights how Y Combinator and tech companies are complicit in the inhumane conditions of sweatshops. You don't get to create this product and then absolve yourself of its negative impact of it.

tqi 2y ago
But that's my point - Y Combinator and tech companies are complicit in the inhumane conditions of sweatshops, the how is irrelevant to why it is bad. But framing it as a story about "AI" and "machine vision" just causes people to argue about the technology. [1] Y Combinator supports an AI startup that's pitching granular machine vision surveillance of factory workers.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  > But framing it as a story about "AI" and "machine vision" just causes people to argue about the technology. It's relevant because this furthers this idea that current early AI technology is not about making the world a better plance and is instead used to accelerate the worst aspects of humanity. Sadly, the abuse of workers is not a novel idea. So the conversation should be more towards how we establish an ethical attitude towards how we make use of LLM's
  - tqi 2y ago
    > It's relevant because this furthers this idea that current early AI technology is not about making the world a better plance and is instead used to accelerate the worst aspects of humanity. Can't it be about both?