Re:Google AI has access to huge haul of NHS patient data
by Bluestrike2 on Monday May 02, 2016 @07:01PM
(#11616441)
Ok, so what? Even if a company fights to maintain control over their product, there's still a societal benefit even if that benefit has been artificially limited due to price. And while they can delay things to an extent, eventually, they'll lose control over their product as IP protections run out. There are still games that can be played at that point when everything is lined up just right, but those are games that can be addressed through legislation and the courts.
I'd rather hideously expensive treatments exist, even if I can't afford them, than live in a world where they're never even an option. Price can and does change over time, and those treatments become more accessible to more people. But if the treatments are never developed in the first place, then that's an even greater tragedy because then there's literally nothing that can be done to make them accessible.
This seems like a double standard. Why should I be happy when corporations will regularly go to court to make sure that nothing they create returns to the public domain within my lifetime? The norm seems to be capturing this kind value wherever (and for a long as) possible, not distributing it freely for the good of mankind.
I'm not making a normative argument that this is a healthy way to live or for society to operate. In a functional community resources, ideas, and capabilities may be shared freely for the benefit of all, but it can't always go one way. That's exploitation, not community.