During a presentation by an executive with Google’s Israel branch on Monday, a Google Cloud engineer stood up and shouted, “I refuse to build technology that powers genocide or surveillance.” They

Andrew@andrew.masto.host to News@lemmy.world – 437 points –

During a presentation by an executive with Google’s Israel branch on Monday, a Google Cloud engineer stood up and shouted, “I refuse to build technology that powers genocide or surveillance.” They were later fired.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/8/24094687/google-israel-project-nimbus-employee-fired

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Sure did take him a long time to get upset about surveillance.

I still think that better late than never

Yeah it's hard to shame someone for not springing to challenge their employer on every little thing the moment they become aware of it. Sometimes it takes a bit for things to pile up to the point it's too much.

I'm sure your noble sacrifice for the cause dwarfs his.

Thinking these are some kind of noble sacrifices that somehow create real change in the world is pretty funny. That's just not how corporations work.

You think some google CEO is gonna go "oh gee, that engineer sure had a point. we better start caring about ethics again."?

There's a difference between clickbaity stunts and effective protest.

I think this guy did what he felt he needed to do and it doesn't have anything to do with us. Maybe it will spark change and maybe it won't. The only thing I know for sure is that being a self righteous prick on the internet about his actions isn't going to accomplish anything positive.

I think if he wasn't looking for publicity, he would have tried to organize within his company. This kind of posturing stuff is just about image.

Unless he's some mental child or something, that just "couldn't hold his intense feelings inside anymore" or whatever.

He could have done something real. This kind of petulant bullshit isn't it though. It's just not how the corporate world works, it won't move anything, and actually makes his cause look more childish.

The guy should have organized the resistance or nothing at all. There is nothing in between right?

If that action made just one person rethink their ethics, then it was worth it.

And now that it is in the news, more people will see it and it will affect more people.

Not everything is a fucking movie.

Funny when sudden, out-of-place emotional outbursts are very cinematic, where slow, careful, well-thought-out, planning is really not.

Mental child? Are you ok? Maybe go outside and interact with some people not on the internet a little, because you kind of seem like you need to

Sudden emotional outbursts are not mature.

Mental child is not a mature thing to call someone

In my defense that was a qualified statement. I did not just say "that guy is some mental child" or somesuch. It is just one very unpopular interpretation of his actions.

Hey, we're talking about it. Maybe it will inspire others to do the same.

I doubt there's anybody in America past elementary school that hasn't already talked about Gaza. If you want a protest to work, it has to apply some form of pressure. An easily replaced engineer with thousands of people lined up for his job quitting is not doing that. It just makes people that are already progressive on the issue feel better, which accomplishes zilch, except profit-generating clicks for news articles.

If he was talking about the Sudanese civil war or something that might be a different story. Not Gaza though.

Go ahead and describe what exactly he should have done to make an effective protest. In the meantime, consider that perhaps he simply did not want to be a cog in a genocidal machine as he clearly stated.

I meant we're talking about him taking a stand.

Look, I respect the guy for having the right opinion. But that's not good enough in the real world. Never was, it takes more than that. If just being a decent fellow was enough to fix problems, we'd have fixed them all already.

Harder decisions are required, it's not easy. If he'd have leaked something, or maybe gotten himself fired for simply not-disruptively speaking out and sued or something, or organized a walk-out or whatever, that'd be admirable.

This kind of "oh people on the internet are gonna like this" move is just immature though. It doesn't do jack shit. Standing up isn't good enough, just gets your fucking head blown off. That's just how the world works. Entrenched power isn't some dumb pushover, otherwise generations of activists would have pushed it over already.

You sure do seem to have it all figured out... 🙄

It's easier to sniff out nice-sounding bullshit than it is to find actual progress.

The fact there is conversation around this topic and it’s getting traction means humanity has the ability to ponder this. If human perception is changed by the conversation then his act has created an entire change in society. It just depends. Similar to the shot heard round the world. You never know what that “shot” will be.

You can handwave it away as some magical maybes if you want, but I prefer a more quantitative, substantial, evidence-based understanding. Less poetry, more fact.

I agree with you 1000% tbh. It’s just a sign of change if things like this happen more and more. Then we start to see a factual pattern. As of now. Agree 1000%

Got news, clicks, eyeballs and engagement from the likes of you. Does that equal Google making the change? No, but every little insignificant bit adds up more than cynical internet comments do

It's not cynical to understand that some methods are more practical than others.

There is no such thing as "effective protest". There is action and inaction. Protest is an ineffective middle ground that allows the enemy to target, harass and arrest you.

Now that's an interesting stance. Depends what kind of protest you are talking about I suppose.

Nobody was worried when it was happening in the town over

Nobody was worried when it was their neighbor

Everybody lied to themselves when it was their friend

And by the time it came to them there was nothing left but panic and dread.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Ironic with the switcheroo on the last group

Remember the Turner Diaries, on the Day of the Rope they don't kill the minorities or queer folks or other "lesser thans", they kill all the white people who are "race traitors" because they're not also fascists.

You are never safe from them, you're just further down the list than who they're after at this moment.