News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar by pjc50 on Monday April 02, 2018 @05:45PM (#16739679)
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.
Re:UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar by 52-6F-62 on Monday April 02, 2018 @08:52PM (#16740947)
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:

---

“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

---

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.

Re:UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar by domevent on Monday April 02, 2018 @10:34PM (#16741444)
Responsibility is hard, and most people are machines designed to find paths of least resistance.
Re:UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar by domevent on Monday April 02, 2018 @05:56PM (#16739763)
You know how it goes, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

It’s all over this place, regrettably.

Re:UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar by mankash666 on Monday April 02, 2018 @06:02PM (#16739818)
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

Re:UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar by anigbrowl on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @02:17AM (#16742303)
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.
Re:UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar by conradev on Monday April 02, 2018 @09:21PM (#16741104)
> 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.