So do we really think that everyone who works at Google or Microsoft is a bad person? Let me remind you that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has given billions to charity. He’s probably not a saint, but is he a net positive or a net negative to the world?
Net positive and net negative… there are 8 billion people and that in and of itself is a problem. Should we fault every human on the planet for being part of the problem? “I was just following orders,” someone in the comments said. Biological directives to mate and reproduce and raise a family. Two people having more than two children between them are increasing the population. If you have three kids, and you’re the father, if there are two different mothers, it’s the same equation. Three adults replaced by three children (after so many years). But population is increasing, not decreasing. We’re all part of the problem. Are we all evil?
That’s not the way I see it. I don’t think it’s fair to judge the individual by the group. I think a person can still be a good person even if they’re part of something that is not good. If you agree with me on overpopulation but not the company in OP’s post, do you draw the line at being able to help it? Like if you’re one of 12 kids you can’t help that, so maybe you adopt when you’re ready to have kids, instead of actually bringing more into the world? So most people can’t help where they work on account of your hopes and wishes won’t pay their bills. You can will them to do the right thing, but you’re not the one responsible for paying their bills, and if they get their lights shut off, their car taken, or evicted, you can draw the shades and say “that’s not my problem.” So why should you get a say? Are you willing to support their families? No, you are not.
But at the same time, I also recognise that some organisations are evil, some governments are evil, and those who enable them do own some responsibility for that. I just don’t think it’s the final say in who a person is.
Bill Gates is a bad example. That motherfucker was the most evil corporate asshole in the 90’s. He has rehabilitated his image, but net positive is a bridge too far.
As for the rest, I appreciate the nuance. But Bill Gates can go fuck himself. It’s easy to be generous with money stolen from somewhere else.
Started off fine for roughly a dozen words, then you jump right into Bill Gates.
Bill Gates who was great friends with Jeffrey Epstein, a monopolist, and most recently, worked tirelessly to prevent the sharing of the covid vaccine technology, during the pandemic, because it would harm the profits of his friends in big pharma.
I think their world view just needs more information. Bill Gates is a horrible person, who has had an excellent PR team whitewashing his name for at least a decade. And unlike Elon Musk, he doesn’t step out from behind the PR team’s cover.
We just need to keep bringing it to people’s attention.
Bill Gates is a horrible person, he is a criminal.
Microsoft’s oligopoly (officially sanctioned and enabled by US society) has cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars if not more.
Not to mention his committed support for the current oligarch regime and global corporate criminality more broadly.
That being said, I don’t think everyone at Microsoft or Google is evil, but a far larger percent of their employees are evil than one would think (i.e. it’s not only the senior executives).
Microsoft’s oligopoly (officially sanctioned and enabled by US society) has cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars if not more.
It has cost everything the tech industry made since then and everything it could have made if MS and its helpers hadn’t killed most of the interesting companies, from DEC to Nokia. I’m not naming Sun, because honestly they are seen through rosy glasses by many today, they were the dotcom bubble locomotive and in general had that weird authoritarian vision of future tech which is similar to what we are getting, but without cool industrial design of Sun. They were not the corporation of good.
Microsoft’s oligopoly is a device of fate for the world similar to what tech monopolies were for Japan, leading it into recession, or to China’s isolation policies that led to its 200 years old catastrophes. It’s not something that will be hidden by bigger events or undone. It has defined our world for many decades.
Perhaps it will be named in the future as one of the main reasons for WWIII.
That being said, I don’t think everyone at Microsoft or Google is evil, but a far larger percent of their employees are evil than one would think (i.e. it’s not only the senior executives).
Not even evil, just spineless apes who shouldn’t have civil rights (it’s not a dog whistle, I mean independently of race, such people actually tend to be racist when they can get away with it).
I literally quit Microsoft in large part because I could not morally myself justify working for such a manipulative, lying, exploitative company.
And that was a decade ago.
Yeah, yeah if you work MSFT, you have less moral character than I do, you are certainly aiding and abetting evil; even if you’re not directly doing the super evil shit, you’re helping the gears keep grinding along.
Most of the big tech companies have enough stuff going on that there are non-evil groups within it doing non-evil and it’s a judgment call for each person. I worked at an Amazon contractor for a little while and it didn’t feel right to me so I moved on pretty quickly.
Places like flock and palantir though? Yes, almost certainly.
So do we really think that everyone who works at Google or Microsoft is a bad person? Let me remind you that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has given billions to charity. He’s probably not a saint, but is he a net positive or a net negative to the world?
Net positive and net negative… there are 8 billion people and that in and of itself is a problem. Should we fault every human on the planet for being part of the problem? “I was just following orders,” someone in the comments said. Biological directives to mate and reproduce and raise a family. Two people having more than two children between them are increasing the population. If you have three kids, and you’re the father, if there are two different mothers, it’s the same equation. Three adults replaced by three children (after so many years). But population is increasing, not decreasing. We’re all part of the problem. Are we all evil?
That’s not the way I see it. I don’t think it’s fair to judge the individual by the group. I think a person can still be a good person even if they’re part of something that is not good. If you agree with me on overpopulation but not the company in OP’s post, do you draw the line at being able to help it? Like if you’re one of 12 kids you can’t help that, so maybe you adopt when you’re ready to have kids, instead of actually bringing more into the world? So most people can’t help where they work on account of your hopes and wishes won’t pay their bills. You can will them to do the right thing, but you’re not the one responsible for paying their bills, and if they get their lights shut off, their car taken, or evicted, you can draw the shades and say “that’s not my problem.” So why should you get a say? Are you willing to support their families? No, you are not.
But at the same time, I also recognise that some organisations are evil, some governments are evil, and those who enable them do own some responsibility for that. I just don’t think it’s the final say in who a person is.
Bill Gates is a bad example. That motherfucker was the most evil corporate asshole in the 90’s. He has rehabilitated his image, but net positive is a bridge too far.
As for the rest, I appreciate the nuance. But Bill Gates can go fuck himself. It’s easy to be generous with money stolen from somewhere else.
Removed by mod
Started off fine for roughly a dozen words, then you jump right into Bill Gates.
Bill Gates who was great friends with Jeffrey Epstein, a monopolist, and most recently, worked tirelessly to prevent the sharing of the covid vaccine technology, during the pandemic, because it would harm the profits of his friends in big pharma.
I think your world view needs adjusting.
I think their world view just needs more information. Bill Gates is a horrible person, who has had an excellent PR team whitewashing his name for at least a decade. And unlike Elon Musk, he doesn’t step out from behind the PR team’s cover.
We just need to keep bringing it to people’s attention.
Bill Gates is a horrible person, he is a criminal.
Microsoft’s oligopoly (officially sanctioned and enabled by US society) has cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars if not more.
Not to mention his committed support for the current oligarch regime and global corporate criminality more broadly.
That being said, I don’t think everyone at Microsoft or Google is evil, but a far larger percent of their employees are evil than one would think (i.e. it’s not only the senior executives).
It has cost everything the tech industry made since then and everything it could have made if MS and its helpers hadn’t killed most of the interesting companies, from DEC to Nokia. I’m not naming Sun, because honestly they are seen through rosy glasses by many today, they were the dotcom bubble locomotive and in general had that weird authoritarian vision of future tech which is similar to what we are getting, but without cool industrial design of Sun. They were not the corporation of good.
Microsoft’s oligopoly is a device of fate for the world similar to what tech monopolies were for Japan, leading it into recession, or to China’s isolation policies that led to its 200 years old catastrophes. It’s not something that will be hidden by bigger events or undone. It has defined our world for many decades.
Perhaps it will be named in the future as one of the main reasons for WWIII.
Not even evil, just spineless apes who shouldn’t have civil rights (it’s not a dog whistle, I mean independently of race, such people actually tend to be racist when they can get away with it).
I literally quit Microsoft in large part because I could not morally myself justify working for such a manipulative, lying, exploitative company.
And that was a decade ago.
Yeah, yeah if you work MSFT, you have less moral character than I do, you are certainly aiding and abetting evil; even if you’re not directly doing the super evil shit, you’re helping the gears keep grinding along.
Most of the big tech companies have enough stuff going on that there are non-evil groups within it doing non-evil and it’s a judgment call for each person. I worked at an Amazon contractor for a little while and it didn’t feel right to me so I moved on pretty quickly.
Places like flock and palantir though? Yes, almost certainly.
The landscapers and cleaning staff are probably fine people.