My problem is that he's focusing on the bias against a community, and not on Facebook's unique role in this. We don't have to turn HN into another activist platform for social justice, the internet is filled with such.
Facebook seems to be the most viral/effective platform for spreading any (fake or true) news, and in this instance, the news was possibly harmful to a community. If not facebook, the perps would have relied on the next most viral platform.
That still doesn't explain his cherry picking of comments that speak to bias more than tech. So, no - his comment is NOT relevant to tech!!
The effect of tech matters. It always has. We spent much of the middle of the 20th century working out the downsides of chemical technology, and the ever present risks from nuclear physics; digital tech can have its toxic waste spills and weaponisation like everything else.
Every time this even becomes a question, I also feel compelled to point to the same things.
Including one of my more important figures in those questions surrounding chemical technology and nuclear physics, paraphrasing an old Buddhist proverb:
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“To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell.
And so it is with science.”
Richard Feynman
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I'm continually baffled, though less surprised lately, how many people still think that they can shirk all responsibility. It's important to take time to consider what effects your work can have on the world, and not think anything and everything justified in the name of making money. At some point, we're all in it together.
You're completely wrong. Facebook's stock has crashed in the past week - perception very much matters. While virality is facebook's USP, there's no evidence that an alternative viral tech option would not have resulted in a similar outcome.
It's convenient to blame facebook, and ignore the goverment's actions. And it's convenient to ignore the fact that facebook is infrastructure, like roads and electricity. When bad people use roads and electricity, you do not cut it off for the rest of society, or blame the roads for bad things
Facebook isn't infrastructure like roads and electricity because it's not neutral. I don't hate FB, but it's a privately owned platform. Real infrastructure uses protocols, not platforms.
> When bad people use roads and electricity, you do not cut it off for the rest of society, or blame the roads for bad things
No – instead, the government passes regulation to minimize the number of people that die on the roads. Your car needs to meet safety standards to drive on the road, it needs to be registered with the government, and you need to be licensed to drive it.
Things that become interwoven in the fabric of society don't automatically just get a free pass. I would say the opposite happens, actually.
Agree this is about tech, but then the other parts of the hate speech or misinformation on a community shouldn't be posted here, as it may leave a false impression..
Facebook seems to be the most viral/effective platform for spreading any (fake or true) news, and in this instance, the news was possibly harmful to a community. If not facebook, the perps would have relied on the next most viral platform.
That still doesn't explain his cherry picking of comments that speak to bias more than tech. So, no - his comment is NOT relevant to tech!!