4 ms·

This should surprise no one. A CIA-backed VC was one of the first investors of Google. Big tech will always serve the powers that be. Employees that think their

This should surprise no one. A CIA-backed VC was one of the first investors of Google. Big tech will always serve the powers that be. Employees that think their letters of appeal will do anything live in a fantasy land. That’s not how the real world works.

dotancohen 7mo ago
What is wrong with a company serving the country in which it operates?
- Tistron 7mo ago
  Surely that depends heavily on the country.
  - dotancohen 7mo ago
    The country in question is the United States of America. You know, the one that Iranian Islamic Republic officials lead chants of "Death to America" about. The US is not perfect, but this disparagement of the US for the benefit of the Islamic Republic is disgusting. As is the online bullying of people who stand up for the US.
    - Tistron 7mo ago
      Just because there one or maybe several bad/worse countries in the world, that doesn't mean anything goes ethically. That's a dangerous line of reasoning.
- claudiulodro 7mo ago
  Engineering Ethics is a standard required class in any engineering discipline and a whole field of discussion. The ethics of working on military stuff (or even just government stuff) is nowhere near as cut and dry as your question seems to imply. For example: - What if the country asked you to develop technology to track and hack journalists or political rivals the administration doesn't like? - What if the country asked you to develop chemical weapons? Is it different if the weapons would be used on their own population or only on external "enemies"? - What if the country asked you to personally assassinate a civilian of another country? What if they asked you to create a program that would do that? What if they asked you to simply create a list of targets, and you knew they'd be assassinated? - What if the country asked you to build something in an unsafe way that you're pretty certain will cause harm to people? - What if the country asked you to make a public statement lying about the purpose behind what you're building?

dotancohen 7mo ago

What is wrong with a company serving the country in which it operates?

Tistron 7mo ago
Surely that depends heavily on the country.
- dotancohen 7mo ago
  The country in question is the United States of America. You know, the one that Iranian Islamic Republic officials lead chants of "Death to America" about. The US is not perfect, but this disparagement of the US for the benefit of the Islamic Republic is disgusting. As is the online bullying of people who stand up for the US.
  - Tistron 7mo ago
    Just because there one or maybe several bad/worse countries in the world, that doesn't mean anything goes ethically. That's a dangerous line of reasoning.
claudiulodro 7mo ago
Engineering Ethics is a standard required class in any engineering discipline and a whole field of discussion. The ethics of working on military stuff (or even just government stuff) is nowhere near as cut and dry as your question seems to imply. For example: - What if the country asked you to develop technology to track and hack journalists or political rivals the administration doesn't like? - What if the country asked you to develop chemical weapons? Is it different if the weapons would be used on their own population or only on external "enemies"? - What if the country asked you to personally assassinate a civilian of another country? What if they asked you to create a program that would do that? What if they asked you to simply create a list of targets, and you knew they'd be assassinated? - What if the country asked you to build something in an unsafe way that you're pretty certain will cause harm to people? - What if the country asked you to make a public statement lying about the purpose behind what you're building?