ethics;

[tbs at bsvn.net (TheBlueSage)]

Wow - what a change from the Los Angeles LUG apathy/policy of no
politics please ! (I am a green card holder, so no citizens only job for
me)

In short I see it as the scientific dilemma of our day. Research cost
money, Military/Big Business has money, therefore Military/Big business
get to fund and thus control the development of new technology and its
assimilation (or not) into the marketplace. The military does it from a
desire to be able to annihilate peoples the government becomes scared
of, and Big Business does it out of sheer greed.
A friend of mine worked in the AI development field (attached to a UC
campus) and their entire operation was funded by the Military. When I
asked him how he can sleep at night he said, 'Well if I dont do it,
someone else will'. A classic excuse that has funded slaughter the world
over, but he is partly right. If you could develop, for example, cold
fusion, and give free power to the world, but the Military funded the
project so as to create small and terrifyingly nasty 'nukes', would you
do it....
I guess it all comes down to ones conscience... and I see little place
in the world right now for an active conscience. We have become a race
of 'turning blind eyes'. As long as I can still drive my SUV, and
microwave my dinners, and shout down my cell phone while walking down
the street, I'll turn a blind eye to what is happening to us as a race
and what is happening to our home. (did you hear about the Bees .....)

Controlling the development and roll-out of a technology, whatever it
may be, will also mean knowing to a degree what tools your opponent has.
By releasing to the general market only that which it has already been
superseded allows for the possibility of controlled growth (squeezing
the last drop of potential equity from a product between upgrades for
BB, and knowing the type of bomb that may come at you and how to survive
it from the Mil.)

and to those who say that the military funded (D)arpaNet, which in turn
allowed for the development of the Internet, I would say not really. the
military funded a project out of a desire to produce a given result set.
I believe that if they had not, then it would have simply evolved
somewhere else. Just because the Military were the first to the
finishing post does not mean that only they could have developed it. The
concept of getting two or more computers to talk to each other doesn't
seem that far fetched if you have a couple standing around... Necessity
may breed invention, but no more so than good dollop of curiosity. Look
at the work of Tesla for example.
  
I think open source is a small but fundamental move toward changing
that, and a method for scientists/developers/researchers to contribute
to the knowledge base of the world without taking sides. By releasing a
new technology directly into the public domain, it is available to all
and cannot be used as an angle. I know, I know there are times when we
must hold 'policy secrets' from other conglomerates, either as a
governmental body, or a business concern trying to compete in a
marketplace, but what the heck, governments and businesses the world
over have been using a WIndows PCs for their work place needs... How
secure is that ?????????

Personally I choose not to work in an environment where I contribute to
the demise of us as a race, and/or the demise of our planet.
Nothing good ever came of secrets. Not in a family, not in a business,
and certainly not in government. With secrets comes mistrust, with
mistrust fear, and with fear comes the notion of self-preservation. From
there comes the need for defense, arms, etc etc... a slippery slope we
are all too familiar with...

Wow - my feet are cold I have been on this soapbox for so long... !! ;)

Richard
-- 
Mundus Vult Decipe
   - The World wants to be decieved


On Wed, 2007-05-02 at 06:48 -0700, Eric C wrote:
> i think it's great that you've have brought up this
> topic.  i've always admired scientists in the past who
> have spoken up and i'm quite interested in reading
> what others might say.
> 
> "Before applying our brainpower to something, we might
> wish to consider what it is we're building."  brain
> power, oh crap, i'm already out of this conversation!
> 
> consider my post a mere vote of support.
> 
> - eric c.
> 
> this quote really schocked and scared me as a child: 
> War Games (1983): "Stephen Falken: Now, children, come
> on over here. I'm going to tell you a bedtime story.
> Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Once
> upon a time, there lived a magnificent race of animals
> that dominated the world through age after age. They
> ran, they swam, and they fought and they flew, until
> suddenly, quite recently, they disappeared. Nature
> just gave up and started again. We weren't even apes
> then. We were just these smart little rodents hiding
> in the rocks. And when we go, nature will start over.
> With the bees, probably. Nature knows when to give up,
> David."
> 
> 
> 



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