For future reference, in this case you could use the singular "they" to refer to an ambiguously-gendered person or character. "<MC> drew their sword, for they would not tolerate such vile deeds."
No, likely in anticipation of the rules being changed back.
Better question for you. Why did ISPs attempt to fake support for repealing Net Neutrality [0][1], as well as spend money lobbying Congress? You'll note in that article that there were also fake comments in support of Net Neutrality, apparently mostly generated by one individual, but many, many fake comments against it from ISPs that even used real people's identities [2].
These aren't the actions a company takes if they don't have incentive.
I think ethbro is saying that focusing on absolutely secure systems would drive up costs, not that if we make them more expensive we'll somehow get more security just because they're more expensive.
The lie detector test was an example of junk science that still can be used to produce a desired result. Not meant to imply that people will use a "gaydar" to try and get people to confess to crimes. My mental contrived example was that homophobes in a homophobic community might doctor up such a system to try and convince other people in the community that someone they don't like is gay and should thus be ostracized, but I realize it's a stretch.
Potential harm can certainly arise if the research is junk. People misuse research or believe in junk research all the time. Just look at the anti-vaccines crowd.
One could argue that even if the AI doesn't actually work, if people believe it works then it could bring harm (sorta like lie detector tests which are ineffective but useful for getting confessions out of people who don't know any better). Hence junk science that could harm people of any orientation.