Re:We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads
by Whil- on Friday October 27, 2017 @11:11PM
(#15573803)
Isn't this just a natural evolution following the fact that we're optimizing how to make money instead of optimizing how to make ... "good"? As long as we fight over the resources we want and need we're going to have technology applied by people in ways to optimize their own share. In a global market with little regulation, ethics very quickly gets thrown aside unless that said ethics is important to the consumers. Since in this case it's even difficult to see the ethical problem, how can it be improved without changing the first principle of operation (I.e. that we optimize making money I.e. our own share of resources.)?
Re:We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads
by wallace_f on Saturday October 28, 2017 @12:57AM
(#15574043)
Most people's internal reward system values survival > profit/utility > morals/ethics. Not all, but most.
Sometimes, like you said, those ethical or moral considerations are so far abstractes from what's on your plate that we don't even think about it.
I think we need a better system than simply further centralizing powers around the globe. I mean, just look at how rotten NASA became, burning up a space shuttle and failing to innovate or become more efficient because of a groupthink culture designed to protect leadership. And these were people who ostensibly are relatively good--they could have easily made more money more easily elsewhere.
We need competition. Not leaders and bureaucracies who cherrry pick winners. We need real competition to keep us honest. That's the best thing for humanity if you 'care about other people.'
Re:We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads
by OtterCoder on Saturday October 28, 2017 @12:05AM
(#15573935)
Even optimization for "good" is problematic. I'm fairly sure that you and I would have a long and loud argument over what "good" means if we really got down to brass tacks.
Re:We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads
by Whil- on Friday October 27, 2017 @11:19PM
(#15573827)
Btw, speaking of algorithms, this post was at top 40 on https://news.ycombinator.com when my comment was added. Is that a global state or a personal state configured just for me? :-) (hoping for the former)
Re:We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads
by srean on Saturday October 28, 2017 @05:48AM
(#15574574)
> we're optimizing how to make money instead of optimizing how to make ... "good"?
swhat you say is true, but money that is not backed up with goods or something of value is of little use. They can go past each other for a while but things soon catch up.
Re:We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads
by gaius on Saturday October 28, 2017 @03:02PM
(#15576297)
to see what Facebook knows about you
To see some of what Facebook knows about you. They know a lot more than that - all the stuff they collect implicitly. Entered a search term but never clicked go? They know it. Looked at a page without clicking Like? They know that too. If you have the app they know when you walked past a billboard of someone they showed you and ad for... None of that you can see there
Sometimes, like you said, those ethical or moral considerations are so far abstractes from what's on your plate that we don't even think about it.
I think we need a better system than simply further centralizing powers around the globe. I mean, just look at how rotten NASA became, burning up a space shuttle and failing to innovate or become more efficient because of a groupthink culture designed to protect leadership. And these were people who ostensibly are relatively good--they could have easily made more money more easily elsewhere.
We need competition. Not leaders and bureaucracies who cherrry pick winners. We need real competition to keep us honest. That's the best thing for humanity if you 'care about other people.'
But otherwise, the front page is the front page.
swhat you say is true, but money that is not backed up with goods or something of value is of little use. They can go past each other for a while but things soon catch up.
To see some of what Facebook knows about you. They know a lot more than that - all the stuff they collect implicitly. Entered a search term but never clicked go? They know it. Looked at a page without clicking Like? They know that too. If you have the app they know when you walked past a billboard of someone they showed you and ad for... None of that you can see there