People really seem to be sharpening the axe for our big tech companies these days. Personally I find it disturbing. These companies are a river of prosperity for our people, especially software developers
This sounds like an argument I hear about the nuclear deterrent in the UK. "This brings jobs to the area". There are plenty of serious discussions about the existential threat posed / mitigated / whatever by nuclear weapons without mixing in the incidentals like this. Of course it wins votes.
Big companies a century ago made a lot of cash out of exploiting slave labour overseas. And, I'm sure, plenty of people thought they couldn't live without whatever commodity they were getting for cheap on the back of foreign lives.
This hasn't stopped. We need to keep the dialogue open. The axes should be just as sharp for the new colonial powers.
Maybe it seems like there's a never-ending stream of history to be on the wrong side of, but that can't be an impediment to action.
Big tech companies maybe don't put kids into mines, but they have other ethical issues (privacy, manipulation with public opinion, etc). I don't think anyone can reliably tell that their issues are more ethical or less ethical than child slavery.
"I don't think anyone can reliably tell that their issues are more ethical or less ethical than child slavery" are you seriously comparing targeting algorithms and child slavery and children dying in mining accidents?
And human resources departments, and finance departments, and investors, and people with 401ks, and people who depend on taxes, and anyone who sells goods etc... They produce a lot of value to the US economy
We all depend on taxes. Have you heard of public infrastructure? NASA? DoJ?
It's super disingenuous to pretend that the average employee is somehow getting massive value from giant tech companies. Someone would need to be very (probably intentionally) oblivious to believe that.
Big companies a century ago made a lot of cash out of exploiting slave labour overseas. And, I'm sure, plenty of people thought they couldn't live without whatever commodity they were getting for cheap on the back of foreign lives.
This hasn't stopped. We need to keep the dialogue open. The axes should be just as sharp for the new colonial powers.
Maybe it seems like there's a never-ending stream of history to be on the wrong side of, but that can't be an impediment to action.
(Apologies if the parent comment was satyrical)