Tech Companies are EVIL??? - sure seems like it.

[ExtraSlow]

So there sure seems to be a trend in the news I'm reading and the conversations I'm having towards portraying large tech firms as villains. It's really widespread and seems to be fully embraced.

Uber seems to have built thier entire business on exploiting drivers. Facebook wants your entire internet experience to happen withing thier "walled garden" where they can profit off all the advertising.

The Chive is feuding with Facebook and Google.

So what's the deal? Is the dream of technology and tech companies as a force for good dead? Are we already sliding into the dystopian future that we feared?

What, in short, is up?

[speedog]

Zen?

[ExtraSlow]

News this morning that had me thinking about this topic again:
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88269

[ZenOps]

I'm pretty sure google search results will tend to push "patriotic" news to the bottom. Because after all, there are 200 nations - and if each of them is patriotic skewed to shine light on their own country at the detriment to others - then its not really news.

All the big countries are guilty, but conservative US tends to be the most guilty in using "patriotic" which by traditional media is ok. You can say "The USA makes the best moon space lander" in the 1960's because you owned all the media outlets and newspapers, no one would even consider suing over it. However in year 2020 you cannot say "The USA makes the best cellphone and cellphone internet" and get away with it.

And being "not patriotic" is "evil" to many people, including North Koreans to their leader and traditional US Conservatives. Thing is - I too believe it is right to push patriotic skewed news right to the very bottom whichever country. Don Cherry would and should rightly be pushed right to the bottom, as in any war or conflict you usually have half of the population believing something and half another. US patriots cannot understand how Omar Khadr was absolutely in the right.

Lets not forget that half the USA fought to keep slavery at one point in time.

I can imagine that on Dec 10, YouTube will do a complete wipe of all "patriotic" country specific content, including North Korea and sites like "Rebel media" for Canada. If you want to be patriotic to the entire earth (like Greta and her worry over the health of the planet) then that will rise to the top.

As for the other companies, Airbnb is getting a bad rap now for destroying property.

And also North Korea really has to stop saying that they are building the Mexican wall to stop people from joining North Korea.

[vengie]

What we are shown is ABSOLUTELY filtered.
I’m by no means a conspiracy theorist, but it’s well known google and Facebook have algorithms to show you information most relevant to your online presence.
Things become one big echo chamber which fuels division.

[rage2]

Google used to have Don’t be Evil as part of their code of conduct. That’s no longer there. :rofl:

[killramos]

88274

You really think a sector could make that much money for 2 decades before society turned on them?

People don’t care about what tech companies are doing. They care that they are getting rich doing it.

[revelations]

> They care that they are getting rich doing it.

How dare apple charge 1000$ for a piece of metal - oh wait, people are buying them by the billions.

[ZenOps]

By my rationale, the people who buy $999 Apple stands simply alternate declaring bankruptcy every seven years because they can.

Its the "tech" version of buying $140 million paintings. Not saying its wrong or right - it mostly comes down to if you got the money might as well buy a $200 steak every now and then.

And my theory: The great firewall of China is in place to filter out the lies of other nations, so that *real* achievements can be done. No doubt if you only believe western media, the F-35 should keep the USA in power for another twenty years because of its mind-blowingly awesome technological superiority...

Every two years Sweden takes their one submarine out and every time a US carrier sinks - in real life scenarios. How often does it hit the news? Almost never, which is exactly the way it should be because it is founded on patriotism (even though the US is shown in this scenario to be on the weak side of patriotic pride)

Could a North Korean 2-day fuel capacity submarine take on the USS Enterprise and sink it? Well, Google would never tell you because they don't like patriotism.

[ZenOps]

Its worth nothing that the forums here at beyond.ca are abnormally high ranking for google. Not exactly sure why, must be the nickels.

[ExtraSlow]

The haxxors that run this joint control those rankings. The only reason we are not #1 is to avoid suspicion.

[revelations]

which mod is Zenflops pretending not to be?