Generally I agree with the (mountain of) historical evidence people are putting forth for why transparency in public interactions is a bad idea, won't be a positive net change. Personally, I'm pretty cynical about the possibility of new systems of government via technology-enabled change / new methods of control & automation. It's very concerning though when a group like HN is predominated by the cynical "it can't be helped", "it's just the way it's always been, always will be" notion.
I also have healthy respect for the idea that with new technology, new highs / quality levels are attainable. Obviously mankind needs a new system of government (or correctly implement an instance of "capitalism"). Why can't complete transparency in public communications be a feature? (that includes anything with a $ sign attached to it.)
Imagine you're cleaning / renovating your house and there's this black box in the corner of a room, you can't get inside it by any of your normal means, and the black box is dumping shit onto the floor. It doesn't care about house rules or respond to any communications you try to make. Now imagine you could, through technology, enable a way of looking inside the black box, being able to find the proof you need to be able to say with complete ethical certainty that it needs to fuck right off, and evict it. What do you do? Do you turn away from that technology, hold onto the dream that maybe the black box should be allowed to dump shit onto the floor for perfectly valid reasons that we don't know about inside? Only because that technology means other things in the house that are allowable would have to get that same lens?
I can't help but think that all this utter shit we're now getting proof of via the Panama Papers, human nature at work, selfish actions that are demonstrably "evil", it's going to continue, and worse is happening merely concealed by darker shadows. And it'll get worse as the powerful's influence expands as they get more and more tech savvy and more and more rich.
Humanity (and most life on Earth) is in a ridiculously challenging long-term pickle concerning the sustainability of life as we know it, and there's a rampant group of wealthy, powerful people that are making it harder and harder for us to get to the other side due to their selfish behavior. That shit needs to stop because humanity needs to get it together if we're even to stand a chance.
I also have healthy respect for the idea that with new technology, new highs / quality levels are attainable. Obviously mankind needs a new system of government (or correctly implement an instance of "capitalism"). Why can't complete transparency in public communications be a feature? (that includes anything with a $ sign attached to it.)
Imagine you're cleaning / renovating your house and there's this black box in the corner of a room, you can't get inside it by any of your normal means, and the black box is dumping shit onto the floor. It doesn't care about house rules or respond to any communications you try to make. Now imagine you could, through technology, enable a way of looking inside the black box, being able to find the proof you need to be able to say with complete ethical certainty that it needs to fuck right off, and evict it. What do you do? Do you turn away from that technology, hold onto the dream that maybe the black box should be allowed to dump shit onto the floor for perfectly valid reasons that we don't know about inside? Only because that technology means other things in the house that are allowable would have to get that same lens?
I can't help but think that all this utter shit we're now getting proof of via the Panama Papers, human nature at work, selfish actions that are demonstrably "evil", it's going to continue, and worse is happening merely concealed by darker shadows. And it'll get worse as the powerful's influence expands as they get more and more tech savvy and more and more rich.
Humanity (and most life on Earth) is in a ridiculously challenging long-term pickle concerning the sustainability of life as we know it, and there's a rampant group of wealthy, powerful people that are making it harder and harder for us to get to the other side due to their selfish behavior. That shit needs to stop because humanity needs to get it together if we're even to stand a chance.