How Plato Foresaw Facebook’s Folly; The New York Times, November 16, 2018

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."