I quit Google because I could no longer be a part of the dystopian nightmare they envision as their version of the Nerd Paradise.
You have no idea how strong the reality distortion field is inside of that bubble. Googlers are breathtakingly naive about how the line has been pushed by the senior leadership in order to go from being mere billionaires to mega billionaires.
And it's not that hard to see the mental model and economic conditions that gave rise to this situation.
Assumption 1: Technology is a universal good.
Assumption 2: Centralization is the most efficient mode of operation. (this follows directly from the mission to "Organize the world's information")
Assumption 3: A dumb mantra like "Don't be evil", like intentions matter, and actions don't.
Assumption 4: A centralized data-driven computer system makes the best decisions.
Assumption 5: If the market rewards it, it's moral.
Assumption 6: The more you know about people, the better you can manipulate them (c.f. showing them "more relevant" ads)
Conclusion: Google knows best for everyone, its AI should run the whole world, and since it has a crapton of money, it must be right.
Just pump that 25% year-over-year growth long enough, and you have a sprawling multi-national entity that literally knows everything about everyone. What they search for, what they buy, every website they ever visit, how long they stay there, and how they interact with it, what they watch, what music they like, who they talk to and what about, who they spend their time with, and where, exactly, to the meter, they are every single second of every day, what they look like, what they like to take pictures of, what their voice sounds like, their credit history, criminal backgrounds, and soon, their DNA.
The world doesn't need Google to know this shit. I don't need Google to know this shit about me in order for it to tell me what Katy Perry's second album is named. For fuck sake, we need to stop this.
You have no idea how strong the reality distortion field is inside of that bubble. Googlers are breathtakingly naive about how the line has been pushed by the senior leadership in order to go from being mere billionaires to mega billionaires.
And it's not that hard to see the mental model and economic conditions that gave rise to this situation.
Assumption 1: Technology is a universal good.
Assumption 2: Centralization is the most efficient mode of operation. (this follows directly from the mission to "Organize the world's information")
Assumption 3: A dumb mantra like "Don't be evil", like intentions matter, and actions don't.
Assumption 4: A centralized data-driven computer system makes the best decisions.
Assumption 5: If the market rewards it, it's moral.
Assumption 6: The more you know about people, the better you can manipulate them (c.f. showing them "more relevant" ads)
Conclusion: Google knows best for everyone, its AI should run the whole world, and since it has a crapton of money, it must be right.
Just pump that 25% year-over-year growth long enough, and you have a sprawling multi-national entity that literally knows everything about everyone. What they search for, what they buy, every website they ever visit, how long they stay there, and how they interact with it, what they watch, what music they like, who they talk to and what about, who they spend their time with, and where, exactly, to the meter, they are every single second of every day, what they look like, what they like to take pictures of, what their voice sounds like, their credit history, criminal backgrounds, and soon, their DNA.
The world doesn't need Google to know this shit. I don't need Google to know this shit about me in order for it to tell me what Katy Perry's second album is named. For fuck sake, we need to stop this.