[hn_throwaway_99]

To be blunt, I don't understand how people who work in technology, and who often see the result of bugs when dealing with an enormous amount of complexity, are so quick to jump to conspiracy theories when the "misfiring spam filter" is infinitely more probable.

To emphasize, I think New Climate's blog post does correctly highlight the fact that when "the algorithms" go haywire, it feels like it takes multiple acts of God to get a human to actually fix the issue. But I'm just tired of the lazy appeal to "What The ELiTes DoN't WanT You TO KnOw!!!" whenever a bug pops up (and, ironically, who the "elites" are solely depends on what tribe you identify with - in this case, if you're pro-CO2 reduction, the elites are evil corporate masters seeking more use of fossil fuels for their profits, and if you're on the other side the elites want to use climate change as an excuse to stifle the economy and keep the peons in their place).

[SoftTalker]

Yeah I don't think it's a conspiracy. I think it's a bug, or they are trying out some "AI" on their spam filter and it needs better training.

But it also illustrates what could happen. Microsoft or Google could decide to silence email on certain topics, or they could conceivably be ordered to do so. Would they refuse? Doubtful. And they are so big and handle such a large percentage of email that it would have a real impact.

[happytiger]

This is likely what is going on. But!

Information control is becoming mainstreamed and it’s hilarious that people are so willing to assign to incompetence or error what has been clearly demonstrated to be systems of control and squelching of difficult opinions, especially from big tech.

You see “big tech” (Microsoft, Google, etc.) has been responsible for so much crushing of “misinformation” lately I think it’s comical that people give the benefit of the doubt when these things happen.

Shouldn’t we at least be mocking them for their hilariously dangerous errors and sometimes failures? Isn’t it honestly time to stop calling it a “conspiracy” like it’s not happening.

I’ve run large scale DC operations. I know these things happen. But I seriously think it’s time we started questioning information control practices when they pop up like this — it’s not conspiracy when you have dozens of blatant examples.

I had intended it as just a random thought because it struck me as funny. But seeing the backlash is anything but heartwarming and I really think people should seriously consider what could happen and is likely going to happen and defend against it happening.

There is so much hostility to the idea that big tech would do this, when in fact they have been regularly doing it. Why in the world would you think this isn’t possible and how could anyone honestly assign “accidental” blackouts of organizations to conspiracy in 2023?

[LightHugger]

the bad PR and people assuming the worse is the price the company pays for choosing to have no human support at all. And the price isn't even high enough to discourage them, it makes no sense to complain about people holding the companies to account.

[WD40forRust]

The elite are the group of people you can't question or criticize in front of some normal person without destroying your reputation.

[happytiger]

No group should be protected from being the subject of open conversation in an open society.