Tech is always neutral. It's an inanimate object. It's as neutral as trees or roads or balls of string.

People use tech, and without people, tech does nothing. People are never completely neutral. Therein lies the paradox. But tech cannot feel or think or act. (Let's ignore the looming issue of strong AI for now.)

But yes, tech alone is just "lights, and clockwork."

> On Jun 3, 2014, at 15:52, Marvin Fernandes <marvin@???> wrote:
>
> Will tech be neutral if you take "affordance" in de equation?
> Some tech makes more bad them Good possible.
>
>
> Middelerwijl een schoon wees
> gegroet,
> Marvin Fernandes
> 0624559753
>
>
> Verstuurd vanaf mijn Sinclair Spectrum
>
>> Op 31 mei 2014 om 07:03 heeft Josh Walker <josh@???> het volgende geschreven:
>>
>> While I'd agree we shouldn't even BE over in the sand, I don't see evil on the forehead of the guy who founded PayPal with Elon Musk and the rest, and did whatever Palantir does which seemingly includes detecting IEDs.
>>
>> Some of you guys lean a *lot* more toward what I'd call AnCom. I'm pretty squarely an AnCapper. The guys who build the A-bomb aren't responsible for its misuse. Tech is tech. If bad shit happens with Palantir tech without Thiel's approval or knowledge, it's not Thiel I'm coming for. He's only responsible for his actions, and to the degree he can estimate the future, his lack of action as well.
>>
>> The balance of where that lies―how much of the future can one be reasonably expected to foresee―is indeed the sticking point. Should the A-bomb have never been made, because of that? It seems that it would be made sooner or later anyway; and, there are innumerable legitimate and beneficial uses for the tech too.
>>
>> I'd be curious to know what your take on the plot of Iron Man was. And if you liked the message, I'd recommend you contemplate where you fit on the Anarchist spectrum, and whether you're consistent about your values.
>>
>> If guns and gun manufacturers are neutral, and all the other stuff we generally believe around these parts, I don't see how you can say Palantir itself is anything but neutral without being hypocritical. The other side says the same shit about Cody making 3D-printable guns. Either individuals are responsible and tech is neutral, or not, but you've got to pick one.
>>
>> ―J
>>
>>
>>
>>> On May 30, 2014, at 22:02, Kristov Atlas <author@???> wrote:
>>>
>>> "Officially incorporated in May 2003, Palantir is generally considered to have been founded in 2004 by Peter Thiel <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel>, Alex Karp, Joe Lonsdale <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lonsdale>,^<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palantir_Technologies#cite_note-4> Stephen Cohen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Cohen_%28entrepreneur%29>, and Nathan Gettings. Early investments were $2 million from the US Central Intelligence Agency <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency> venture arm In-Q-Tel <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-Q-Tel>, and $30 million from Thiel and his firm, Founders Fund <http://en.wikiped
> _______________________________________________
> unSYSTEM mailing list: http://unsystem.net
> https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/unsystem