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Google director resigns, citing the company's military deals: "management has lost its moral compass"
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FallenWalnut lemmy.world FallenWalnut@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-08-02
Quote

Including a concern that Google's Pentagon deal could mean mass surveillance of EU citizens.

Google's own staff don't trust them anymore... we shouldn't either.

329   Original
slazer2au lemmy.world slazer2au@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-30
#2 · Quote Reply

How do you lose something you never had?

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Reygle lemmy.world Reygle@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-20
#3 · Quote Reply

Alphabet lost its "moral compass" more than 10 years ago, what a blind idiot.

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crusa187 lemmy.ml crusa187@lemmy.ml
Joined: 2023-07-09
#4 · Quote Reply

“Be Evil” wasn’t a big enough clue?

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altphoto lemmy.today altphoto@lemmy.today
Joined: 2025-04-14
#5 · Quote Reply

Alphabet lost its "moral compass" more than 10 years ago, what a blind idiot.

10 billion rich.... Ok they lost their moral compass....

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CompactFlax discuss.tchncs.de CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de
Joined: 2025-02-14
#6 · (edited) Quote Reply

Alphabet lost its "moral compass" more than 10 years ago, what a blind idiot.

It’s hard to see past the money in your unvested stocks.

To his credit, google has accelerated their enshittification, but they certainly were on the shitty company list 10 years ago. But even now I’m told that Android is just better than iOS because it’s “open”, bypassing the fact that it exists solely to provide screens for people to view Google Ads.

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Photonic lemmy.world Photonic@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-08-12
#7 · Quote Reply

Alphabet lost its "moral compass" more than 10 years ago, what a blind idiot.
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Reygle lemmy.world Reygle@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-20
#8 · Quote Reply

It’s hard to see past the money in your unvested stocks. To his credit, google has accelerated their enshittification, but they certainly were on the shitty company list 10 years ago. But even now I’m told that Android is just better than iOS because it’s “open”, bypassing the fact that it exists solely to provide screens for people to view Google Ads.

Both Android and IOS are unacceptable. GrapheneOS for me, and hopefully once Motorola releases their "shipped with Graphene" devices, a whole lot more people. Anyone who says anything otherwise is a sucker for marketing.

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lostepisodesfoundagain kbin.earth lostepisodesfoundagain@kbin.earth
Joined: 2026-06-09
#9 · Quote Reply

Both Android and IOS are unacceptable. GrapheneOS for me, and hopefully once Motorola releases their "shipped with Graphene" devices, a whole lot more people. Anyone who says anything otherwise is a sucker for marketing.

eyyy, another Graphene user.

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keimevo lemmy.world keimevo@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-01
#10 · Quote Reply

I would love to see a "Careless People"-style book for Google, Amazon and Palantir. Though the Palantir one would probably be called "Evil People" directly.

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I Cast Fist programming.dev ICastFist@programming.dev
Joined: 2023-06-22
#11 · Quote Reply

management has lost its moral compass

PFFFFFTT HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Oh fuck, now that is great a joke!

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Libb piefed.social Libb@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-06-04
#12 · Quote Reply

Better late than never...

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corsicanguppy lemmy.ca corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2023-06-12
#13 · Quote Reply

[removed by moderator]

That’s why he became a director, because he has a flawed moral compass

Whoa, whoa, hold up. What would "trying to change the system from within" look like? Maybe he had better motives but has now given up.

Jumping to conclusions to fit a common narrative is not how we'd like to be, is it? Are we irrevocably jaded beyond redemption, or can we assume better of people until we know more?

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Onomatopoeia lemmy.cafe Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe
Joined: 2025-01-02
#14 · Quote Reply

Management has lost its moral compass

Hahahahahahahahaha

Omfg are you kidding me? You just noticed?

I mean, it's not like they ever had a moral compass to lose in the first place. "Don't be evil" - who needs to say that?

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Photonic lemmy.world Photonic@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-08-12
#15 · (edited) Quote Reply

That’s why he became a director, because he has a flawed moral compass Whoa, whoa, hold up. What would "trying to change the system from within" look like? Maybe he had better motives but has now given up. Jumping to conclusions to fit a common narrative is not how we'd like to be, is it? Are we irrevocably jaded beyond redemption, or can we assume better of people until we know more?
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DaddleDew lemmy.world DaddleDew@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-08
#16 · Quote Reply

In a public company there is constant pressure from the shareholders to place people with no moral compass in corporate management positions. It is like an evolutionary pressure. We see the results of this happen over and over again.

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MonkderVierte lemmy.zip MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-05-30
#17 · Quote Reply

They had one maybe in 1995.

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ActualGrapesTasteGreen piefed.zip ActualGrapesTasteGreen@piefed.zip
Joined: 2026-03-25
#18 · Quote Reply

Why do we pretend this ad company is anything but?

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erie09 lemmy.world erie09@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-08-04
#19 · Quote Reply

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wizblizz lemmy.world wizblizz@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-01
#20 · Quote Reply

eyyy, another Graphene user.

Dozens of us!

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GreenKnight23 lemmy.world GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
Joined: 2024-09-21
#21 · Quote Reply

google lost that shit decades ago.

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tremble5218 programming.dev tremble5218@programming.dev
Joined: 2026-01-19
#22 · Quote Reply

Dozens of us!

The irony of GrapheneOS is that it works very well on a Google device, and mostly supports Google devices. I'm also a GrapheneOS user.

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floofloof lemmy.ca floofloof@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2023-06-16
#23 · (edited) Quote Reply

Both Android and IOS are unacceptable. GrapheneOS for me, and hopefully once Motorola releases their "shipped with Graphene" devices, a whole lot more people. Anyone who says anything otherwise is a sucker for marketing.

I'm worried that with all the legal attempts by governments around the world trying to undermine privacy and encryption and enforce ID verification and total surveillance, Motorola might get cold feet about the deal. There are powerful people in many countries who would love to make GrapheneOS illegal.

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Reygle lemmy.world Reygle@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-20
#24 · Quote Reply

I'm worried that with all the legal attempts by governments around the world trying to undermine privacy and encryption and enforce ID verification and total surveillance, Motorola might get cold feet about the deal. There are powerful people in many countries who would love to make GrapheneOS illegal.

Let's hope that doesn't happen. Graphene is BY FAR our best option, by a large margin.

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Etterra discuss.online Etterra@discuss.online
Joined: 2024-12-10
#25 · Quote Reply

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wabafee lemmy.world wabafee@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-11
#26 · Quote Reply

Just be evil

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StupidBrotherInLaw lemmy.world StupidBrotherInLaw@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-27
#27 · Quote Reply

[removed by moderator]

I believe that's a key distinction. Google's behavior has become too problematic for someone who is significantly morally deficient.

Big fucking red flag here.

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Cethin lemmy.zip Cethin@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2023-07-01
#28 · Quote Reply

That’s why he became a director, because he has a flawed moral compass Whoa, whoa, hold up. What would "trying to change the system from within" look like? Maybe he had better motives but has now given up. Jumping to conclusions to fit a common narrative is not how we'd like to be, is it? Are we irrevocably jaded beyond redemption, or can we assume better of people until we know more?

"Guys, maybe the Nazis in the SS were trying to change the system from within? We shouldn't jump to conclusions!"

Sure, it's technically possible they were trying to change things from within. Seeing as they didn't speak up before and continued to work there, as a director, for a long time without any public protest, indicates to me they're culpable in whatever Google was doing. If they want to prove that wrong, they're free to provide evidence, or to take actions that prove it (like leak some damning data or something). We don't always have to wait for evidence to prove something like this though.

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Cethin lemmy.zip Cethin@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2023-07-01
#29 · Quote Reply

Let's hope that doesn't happen. Graphene is BY FAR our best option, by a large margin.

In the short term, probably. It's still android though. There's no technical reason why phones can't be running actual Linux though, which provides users real freedom.

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the_mighty_kracken lemmy.world the_mighty_kracken@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-14
#30 · Quote Reply

Why do we pretend this ad company is anything but?

Please enjoy this commercial break before your invasive surveillance begins.

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msage programming.dev msage@programming.dev
Joined: 2023-06-12
#31 · Quote Reply

Let's hope that doesn't happen. Graphene is BY FAR our best option, by a large margin.

It's not, postmarketOS or even SailfishOS are much better, because they don't depend on Android,

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Bloomcole lemmy.world Bloomcole@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-02-17
#32 · Quote Reply

He only wants to help the sfascis US government kill children when they're ruled by Blue MAGA

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Bloomcole lemmy.world Bloomcole@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-02-17
#33 · Quote Reply

That’s why he became a director, because he has a flawed moral compass Whoa, whoa, hold up. What would "trying to change the system from within" look like? Maybe he had better motives but has now given up. Jumping to conclusions to fit a common narrative is not how we'd like to be, is it? Are we irrevocably jaded beyond redemption, or can we assume better of people until we know more?

LOL

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majorboondoggle lemmy.world majorboondoggle@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-07-05
#34 · Quote Reply

[removed by moderator]

The decisions you were referring to weren’t taking place in his department. He was in android security apparently. If we assume culpability with such a tenuous link then would you also say that paying taxes to a government engaged in such behaviour is morally unjustified per your morals?

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Photonic lemmy.world Photonic@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-08-12
#35 · Quote Reply

The decisions you were referring to weren’t taking place in his department. He was in android security apparently. If we assume culpability with such a tenuous link then would you also say that paying taxes to a government engaged in such behaviour is morally unjustified per your morals?
[removed by moderator]
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majorboondoggle lemmy.world majorboondoggle@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-07-05
#36 · Quote Reply

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What if their life circumstances didn’t allow it? We don’t know who they were supporting someone in their family or whether they had a visa status that prevented easily switching jobs etc.

We cannot assume that the negotiating parties - employer and employee - are operating at an equal footing. Most often it’s not. Therefore casting judgement like this is very misleading imo.

But my original point was also that Google is such a large company that it seems weird to blanket rule everyone who worked there as being guilty because some exec approved a deal. My question was, what about extending that to the economy as a whole. Sure it’s illegal to fail to pay taxes but my question was whether you think that’s immoral to participate in the economy at all, because it’s very much like this person’s participation in google.

I think we’d both agree on what the world should look like, but I also think we have to make practical choices in the world we live in. I don’t mean it as a defense of doing some horrible thing, of course, I hope that’s clear. But if such a large employer were out of bounds for moralistic reasons then very likely you’re looking at ruling out a bunch of other companies too and it’s too much of a disadvantage to operate in for an average person looking for a job.

Sorry for the rant / long post.. but I hope I got my point across!

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