Life isn't black and white with "good/bad". Further, there's no objective measure of what is good or bad. Everything is a shade of gray.
You certainly could argue that some actions are absolutely good or absolutely bad, but those aren't the majority of actions people take on a day to day basis. People aren't often faced with "should I kill this person" or "should I publish the cure for cancer". Instead it's "should I eat a hamburger or a salad" or "Should I finish this jira case or that jira case".
For example, you could argue that anyone working in an automotive plant is doing something bad because they are helping to produce vehicles which burn fuel which perpetuates climate change. But those plants also often produce parts for farm equipment or vehicles used to transport necessities like food.
People working at AI companies can make similar personal calculations. Like yeah there are bad things happening because of AI, but also they can believe that there are good things that can come as a result such as research and product developments.
My point is that these articles are ineffective and miss the point. It's not about moral relativism but rather that morals aren't universally shared or understood.
Ultimately, pretty much everyone feels like they are a good person, so "you doing a bad thing makes you bad" doesn't really square away especially when that person's personal moral calculus can see their actions as being a net good.
It's pretty hard to shame someone out of a job even if most people view at as net negative on society (boat loads of money and all).
That's why I disagree with all the framing of the article.
How do you know articles like this are ineffective?
I know people in my life who have discomfort about their jobs at Meta because of how other people view the company. One of them is planning to leave in the next year or so.
The impact may be hard to measure or rather diffuse, but in my experience, it is real.
cogman10 · · focus · HN ↗
Life isn't black and white with "good/bad". Further, there's no objective measure of what is good or bad. Everything is a shade of gray.
You certainly could argue that some actions are absolutely good or absolutely bad, but those aren't the majority of actions people take on a day to day basis. People aren't often faced with "should I kill this person" or "should I publish the cure for cancer". Instead it's "should I eat a hamburger or a salad" or "Should I finish this jira case or that jira case".
For example, you could argue that anyone working in an automotive plant is doing something bad because they are helping to produce vehicles which burn fuel which perpetuates climate change. But those plants also often produce parts for farm equipment or vehicles used to transport necessities like food.
People working at AI companies can make similar personal calculations. Like yeah there are bad things happening because of AI, but also they can believe that there are good things that can come as a result such as research and product developments.
moolcool · · focus · HN ↗
cogman10 · · focus · HN ↗
Ultimately, pretty much everyone feels like they are a good person, so "you doing a bad thing makes you bad" doesn't really square away especially when that person's personal moral calculus can see their actions as being a net good.
It's pretty hard to shame someone out of a job even if most people view at as net negative on society (boat loads of money and all).
That's why I disagree with all the framing of the article.
dwaltrip · · focus · HN ↗
I know people in my life who have discomfort about their jobs at Meta because of how other people view the company. One of them is planning to leave in the next year or so.
The impact may be hard to measure or rather diffuse, but in my experience, it is real.