It’s never that clear cut. If Theranos had a little more time they could’ve finished the product and significantly reduced the costs for medical providers, which would almost certainly have meant many lives saved and a boost to the economy.
Was that intern sincerely trying to help the world? I doubt it. Self interested and opportunistic. Having lived in Berkeley for a few years I know how twisted their crazy political world view is. Those people are radicals and totally untrustworthy.
> If Theranos had a little more time they could’ve finished the product and significantly reduced the costs for medical providers, which would almost certainly have meant many lives saved and a boost to the economy.
So firstly - that's pure speculation.
Secondly and more importantly - they didn't just claim they had this technology working, they had actual people using it to inform their medical decisions. Fake it until you make it is never ever going to be ethical if you are operating in the medical diagnostics industry and you are actually having patients use it. What they did had the potential for causing great physical harm and even killing people due to misdiagnosis/clearing people of conditions they may have.
Please never work in an industry where human (or other) lives are at stake. It pays less than whatever ad-tech world you live in, and second you'll feel horribly out of place talking to people with stupid things like "ethics".
Attending Berkeley doesn't mean that you understand everything about how the world works. I went to the sister/better school down south, and it was also full of book-smart dumb-dumbs. Get over yourself.