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I'm talking about silicon valley in particular. If you ask me, the privacy implications of facebook, google, et al cancel out the benefits of sharing photos wit

I'm talking about silicon valley in particular. If you ask me, the privacy implications of facebook, google, et al cancel out the benefits of sharing photos with friends and more accurate search results. Not a net negative either. Just breaking even. Certainly, the world is a better place than it was in the last few decades. Technology had a role in that, but so did politics, culture, and societal trends.

smtddr 13y ago
That's cool. I don't completely agree but at least if we're focused on SV then your point is reasonable.
deleted 13y ago
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actsasbuffoon 13y ago
Before it was known as Silicon Valley it was home to places like Bell Laboratories, Xerox PARC, the Stanford Research Institute, etc. Tech workers in SV created ethernet, optical storage, text to speech recognition, laser printing, the modern graphical user interface, and all of that was just at Xerox PARC! I'm pretty sure the transistor was invented at Bell Labs in SV. I agree that there are some privacy concerns about what's going on with social media companies, but if you think that's of equal importance to the transistor then I don't think we live in the same universe.
nmodu 13y ago
With respect to self-driving cars, wouldn't the increased safety of our roads greatly outweigh the privacy implications? Think of all the lives that could be saved. >If you ask me, the privacy implications of facebook, google, et al cancel out the benefits of sharing photos with friends and more accurate search results. We aren't just talking about "sharing photos with friends and more accurate search results" anymore. Having had many people that I care about torn away from me due to fatal car accidents, I personally believe that the trade-off here is a no-brainer. >Still, this is a reminder that we've all failed to create a better world with technology. Self-driving cars can (and will) create a better world.

smtddr 13y ago

That's cool. I don't completely agree but at least if we're focused on SV then your point is reasonable.

deleted 13y ago

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actsasbuffoon 13y ago

Before it was known as Silicon Valley it was home to places like Bell Laboratories, Xerox PARC, the Stanford Research Institute, etc. Tech workers in SV created ethernet, optical storage, text to speech recognition, laser printing, the modern graphical user interface, and all of that was just at Xerox PARC! I'm pretty sure the transistor was invented at Bell Labs in SV. I agree that there are some privacy concerns about what's going on with social media companies, but if you think that's of equal importance to the transistor then I don't think we live in the same universe.

nmodu 13y ago

With respect to self-driving cars, wouldn't the increased safety of our roads greatly outweigh the privacy implications? Think of all the lives that could be saved. >If you ask me, the privacy implications of facebook, google, et al cancel out the benefits of sharing photos with friends and more accurate search results. We aren't just talking about "sharing photos with friends and more accurate search results" anymore. Having had many people that I care about torn away from me due to fatal car accidents, I personally believe that the trade-off here is a no-brainer. >Still, this is a reminder that we've all failed to create a better world with technology. Self-driving cars can (and will) create a better world.