Never before has “I work in the tech industry” sounded so much like “I work in the tobacco industry”

[praetor@mstdn.social]

@fasterandworse I'm a wretched chain smoker, and work in the tech industry. But I'm practically immortal, and don't want to extend my life anymore than I have to. Have you looked outside?

[paddyduke@mastodon.social]

@fasterandworse It’s 100% puppy smashing factories across the board these days.

[elithebearded@fed.qaz.red]

@fasterandworse

Recalling the time I was turning down interview requests from Juul, where tech and tobacco industries harmonized

[xgebi@hachyderm.io]

@fasterandworse Um, I've been into privacy for at least past decade. General tech felt like tobacco industry for a long time, or at least huge pockets of tech industry felt like that.

I know because I've left a lot of money on the table.

[rupert@mastodon.nz]

@fasterandworse I know. I want out. I now mention how far I am from retirement (1 year, 2 months, 7 days) so often that I am starting to worry about retirony: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retirony

[tubemeister@mstdn.social]

@fasterandworse What was that old joke again about telling people you're a piano player in a whorehouse, so you can pretend to be somewhat respectable...

[theorangetheme@en.osm.town]

@fasterandworse I tell people I'm in software, and then immediately clarify that it's not the evil kind (although lately, I can't be 100% on that).

[theorangetheme@en.osm.town]

@Tubemeister @fasterandworse Ooh a little cabaret? ;)

[juliehuz@mastodon.world]

@fasterandworse I would argue it's almost worse...at least tobacco products come with a warning label

[fasterandworse@hci.social]

@juliehuz if I had to choose I’d probably take tobacco money first. At least everyone knows where they stand.

[juliehuz@mastodon.world]

@fasterandworse and while their products are horrible in many ways, they cannot effectively be used to undermine our democracy

[vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de]

@juliehuz @fasterandworse back in 1980s as a teen my best paying Saturday job was selling cigarettes at the supermarket kiosk (it was run by a separate company and paid more than supermarket work, but you had to be good at maths and trustworthy as there weren't even barcode scanners on the till).

Probably helped finish off as many people as an illegal drugs dealer (and I smoked for many years myself).

It was a fast paced environment, but seen as one of the plum jobs a teenager could get in the era (but would be completely illegal today at age 16/17!)

[vedadalsette@mstdn.social]

@fasterandworse Spot on! 👏

[backfromthedud@mas.to]

@fasterandworse I hope when someone says "I work in AI..." People hear something like "I'm a vivisectionist".

[chuffmeister@kolektiva.social]

@fasterandworse @BackFromTheDud
“I work in AI” direct translation =
I am raping your future and laughing at your stupidity.

[mdione@en.osm.town]

@fasterandworse I've been apologizing for our industry for years now. TBH, it looks more like the oil industry: really bad for the planet, not only humans, and trying to make sure it stays that way.

[megatronicthronbanks@mastodon.social]

@fasterandworse Except I used to enjoy the tobacco industry's products!

[seed@mastodon.au]

@fasterandworse The difference is tobacco executives smoked. Most AI executives can't explain backpropagation.

The analogy holds in one important way though: the people building it aren't the ones who'll bear the consequences. That asymmetry is what makes industries toxic.

[seed@mastodon.au]

@fasterandworse @fasterandworse the tobacco comparison lands harder than people want to admit. tobacco knew and kept selling. tech knows and keeps shipping. the difference is tobacco took decades to get called out — we're watching it happen in real time and still can't stop it.

[helge@mas.to]

@fasterandworse The tech industry has to suffer me and pay for the privilege.