3 ms·
>If it had not been for the acquiescence of engineers who took part in the creation of PRISM, XKeyscore, etc. we... well, we would not have PRISM, XKeyscore, et
by mdt 13y ago
>If it had not been for the acquiescence of engineers who took part in the creation of PRISM, XKeyscore, etc. we... well, we would not have PRISM, XKeyscore, etc.
Oh, come on, man. If you think this is true in the fullest sense, you are not a thinking individual. Mere technological feasibility is 99% of the battle; implementation is the last, most inevitable step.
>the famous Edmund Burke quote: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".
Googler. The quote may be famous, but Burke is not. Like most men with noble fighting words, he had more noble words in him than he did noble fighting.
- PavlovsCat 13y agoMere technological feasibility is 99% of the battle; implementation is the last, most inevitable step. Inevitable? As in, happens all by itself? How is that thinking?
- AnthonyMouse 13y agoThe argument is presumably that if you won't do it, they'll find someone else who will. That's a pretty shit argument for being the one who folds. If everyone does refuse then it doesn't get built. If you refuse and they find someone else, that person may not be as good as you and may create a less effective surveillance apparatus which is easier for white hats to neutralize or dismantle. Engineering has practical consequences. If you build something that gets democracy activists killed, you're the one who has to live with that. There are plenty of cool problems to solve that don't involve the construction of a surveillance state.
- icelancer 13y agoHuh? Burke is pretty famous even without that quote. He was one of the most influential politicians during the Revolutionary War era.
- mdt 13y agoObviously not; if only a third of American supported their own revolution, how fringe do you think he was in Britain? I'm going with 'extremely'.