[gaius]

I don’t use FB myself anymore but my wife still does and this morning she showed me some posts by a friend of ours. He’s... troubled anyway, but recently he seems to have become addicted to self-harming and posting the photos on FB for the reactions and comments. Congratulations, FB scientists, this is your contribution to the world.

[all2]

Their contribution is profiting from his self harm, which is worse in some ways.

[wasdfff]

How do these researchers justify such a lack of empathy in their product? If I worked for a company that makes a product that does objective harm to society, like Facebook or a missile, I would feel like I wasted years of my life as I would be giving great effort to something where the outcome can only be regression, not improvement of anyone’s life. Exploiting these behavioral feedback loops for profit is cruel and dystopian. I already feel terribly for all the people I encounter who could be so much more focused on their own ambitions if they weren’t spending 4+ hours a day trapped in the infinite scroll of social media. I know how much of a setback that kind of addiction can be, because it used to be me.

[okmokmz]

>How do these researchers justify such a lack of empathy in their product?

$$$$ and/or personality disorders I imagine

[all2]

Willful ignorance or cognitive dissonance may also explain some of this. See Nazi Germany: citizens knew something was going on, but they willed the whispering away.