Bret
Stephens, Opinion Columnist, The New York Times; How
Plato Foresaw Facebook’s Folly
[Kip
Currier: A must-read opinion piece by Bret Stephens. Bookmark and pass on to
others!
Facebook's
interminable ethics failures and catastrophic abdication of any semblance of
moral leadership offer glaring case studies for the essential role of ethical
decision-making and accountability in organizations--not only in the technology
sector but in ALL areas of civic life.
Moreover,
where is Facebook’s Board amidst this moral morass? If corporate leaders will
not “do the right things”, it is ethically incumbent upon Boards of Trustees to
exercise the moral oversight and fiduciary responsibility with which they have
been entrusted.]
"The
story of the wildly exaggerated promises and damaging unintended consequences
of technology isn’t exactly a new one. The real marvel is that it constantly
seems to surprise us. Why?
Part of the
reason is that we tend to forget that technology is only as good as the people
who use it. We want it to elevate us; we tend to degrade it. In a better world,
Twitter might have been a digital billboard of ideas and conversation ennobling
the public square. We’ve turned it into the open cesspool of the American mind.
Facebook was supposed to serve as a platform for enhanced human interaction,
not a tool for the lonely to burrow more deeply into their own
isolation.
It’s also
true that Facebook and other Silicon Valley giants have sold themselves not so
much as profit-seeking companies but as ideal-pursuing movements. Facebook’s
mission is “to make the world more open and connected.” Tesla’s goal is “to
accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” Google’s mantra was
“Don’t Be Evil,” at least until it quietly dropped the slogan earlier this year.
But the
deeper reason that technology so often disappoints and betrays us is that it
promises to make easy things that, by their intrinsic nature, have to be
hard...
Start over,
Facebook. Do the basics. Stop pretending that you’re about transforming the
state of the world. Work harder to operate ethically, openly and responsibly.
Accept that the work will take time. Log off Facebook for a weekend. Read an
ancient book instead."
Issues and developments related to ethics, information, and technologies, examined in the ethics and intellectual property graduate courses I teach at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. My Bloomsbury book "Ethics, Information, and Technology" will be published in Summer 2025. Kip Currier, PhD, JD
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