Slashdot Mirror


Mark Zuckerberg's Resolution Is To Talk About Tech's Place In Society (engadget.com)

In the past, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg challenged himself to create an AI assistant for his home and committed to learning Mandarin. This year he's planning to hold a number of public discussions about how technology plays a role in the future of society. Engadget reports: "I'm an engineer, and I used to just build out my ideas and hope they'd mostly speak for themselves," he wrote in a Facebook post. "But given the importance of what we do, that doesn't cut it anymore. So I'm going to put myself out there more than I've been comfortable with and engage more in some of these debates about the future, the tradeoffs we face, and where we want to go." Zuckerberg plans to hold talks with "leaders, experts, and people in our community from different fields" every few weeks. He'll make the discussions available on his Facebook and Instagram feeds or elsewhere. Engadget suggests Zuckerberg "might be best served to directly focus on restoring trust with Facebook's two billion users and fixing the vast array of problems with which his platform is struggling, including privacy screwups and a tanking stock."

72 comments

  1. HillBilly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No tech in a state penitentiary

    1. Re: HillBilly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The zuck and drumpf would make excellent cellmates.

    2. Re:HillBilly by sh00z · · Score: 1

      I just saw this article this morning. Didn't realize it was about Zuck. Area Man’s Intelligence Probably Just Too Intimidating For Most Women

  2. Also in the news by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Funny

    I challenged myself to learn more about the Cortex M7 and pick up Russian.

    What? Isn't that the thread about stuff people do nobody gives a fuck about?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Also in the news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, tell me what I should know about the Cortex-M7? I've only really worked with M0-4, and I don't really know much about those differences. I'm currently working with an Cortex-R7, but my main problems are with GCC (it is producing code which crashes somehow (I don't have a debugger) on switch statements and function pointers at least).

    2. Re:Also in the news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Suckerberg needs to go to prison for life, no parole, and in total solitary confinement...No communication with anyone inside or outside the prison. Total isolation. Fakebook, TWITter, and all other data mining suites need to be shut don immediately, and all of their servers and data backups totally destroyed!

    3. Re: Also in the news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, come on! Let him tell about the Russian.

  3. Things will bounce back - promise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Things will bounce back. Facebookers have the intelligence and memory of a goldfish, and politicians who might make trouble, only slightly more. PR tells me they can hose things down, and we just have to tough it out a bit longer. Unlike Apple, we have kept supermodels naked selfies fairly private. Man this is a fun job.

  4. Re:Parallel topic: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exactly,

    But Chris is a victim here. He keeps on reading those SEO, youtube algorithm, basically get rich quick sites. He doesn't realize that he is the fish for them since they make money off him with their own schemes. Then, he wastes his time trying to implement what those sites suggest and he ends up disturbing people.

    I mean, those crooks tell Chris that he has to build personal brands and he goes on the Internet and makes everything about himself public!

    I believe we should bring this up at our next meeting. He might not be our only patient victim of such on-line abuse.

    https://www.researchgate.net/p...

    --
    Silvia Bunge
    Psychology Department
    University of California, Berkeley

  5. FINALLY!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After millennia of coming up with technological solutions for society's problems, big and small, SOMEONE will finally tell us what to think about the stuff we all use.

  6. I think if Facebook had a proper MEPR then... by shanen · · Score: 2

    If Facebook had a proper MEPR (Multidimensional Earned Public Reputation), then I would look at Zuckerberg's MEPR and adjust my filters so that I would NOT see him anymore. The trolls, too, of course. (Actually, it should be easy to pre-block trolls with a slight adjustment to the default visibility threshold.)

    Of course it will never happen. MEPR would require sharing some of the information that Facebook has collected about each of us, and Facebook is going to hoard that information. Only way Facebook would consider sharing the MEPR data would be if there was legislation forcing them to or if there was a credible competitive threat.

    Time's up, but I bid you ADSAuPR, atAJG.

    --
    Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
    1. Re:I think if Facebook had a proper MEPR then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thinks he needs more SDF (Superdimentional Fortress) he could do so much more

    2. Re: I think if Facebook had a proper MEPR then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's map what you and he said to the NIG (Normalized Intelligence Graph) and conclude which statement scores a higher GER (Gay Erection Registered)

  7. Learned Mandarin by nukenerd · · Score: 1

    Now that he has learned to speak Mandarin I wish he'd keep to it.

    1. Re:Learned Mandarin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now that he has learned to speak Mandarin I wish he'd keep to it.

      Zuck speaking Mandarin pairs well with Facebook.

      Both are voraciously pointless.

  8. Poor guy will have to wade through clueless execs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Conference personas, writers, bizdev and managers.
    Shame he can't just have a beer once in a while with a random techie..

  9. It Won't Last by ytene · · Score: 4, Informative

    Mr Zuckerberg has been repeatedly ask to attend meetings in the UK and Brussels to explain the practices undertaken by his company and the way that those practices impact the citizens of the UK and the broader EU.

    Now that Mr Zuckerberg has made this fresh commitment to going and meeting with people, I'm sure that his administration staff are already in the process of reaching out to make his appointments on the other side of the Atlantic.

    What's that you say? No? Well, this is just more drivel then.

    Actions speak louder than words.

    1. Re:It Won't Last by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Honestly who cares about you limey fucks?

    2. Re:It Won't Last by rudy_wayne · · Score: 1

      Zuckerberg plans to hold talks with "leaders, experts, and people in our community from different fields" every few weeks.

      And he will do nothing of substance, and it will be business as usual, just like it has been for the last 10+ years.

      One apology after another. Constant promises to change and do better. Followed by . . . . . nothing.

      The "leaders, experts, and people in our community from different fields" need to start telling Zuckerberg to fuck off. Until he actually does something, he need to STFU.

    3. Re:It Won't Last by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Mr Zuckerberg has been repeatedly ask to attend meetings in the UK and Brussels to explain the practices undertaken by his company and the way that those practices impact the citizens of the UK and the broader EU.

      Which would have produced nothing of value whatsoever, because politicians don't even know what questions to ask. We learned that when he spoke to congress. Even Democrats were dumbfounded.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:It Won't Last by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly.

      He’s got it all backward... FaceBook (StalkerNet) massively and famously forgot society’s role in technology, and yet the guy is still banging on about technology’s role in society?!

      Nup. Unsubscribe.

  10. Share data with China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now that he knows Mandarin, making deals with China for all Facebook user data will be much easier.

  11. He should not talk. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He should listen.

  12. Let the Right One In by mentil · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The natural state of technology is to advance by becoming more efficient, effective, and to encompass and sometimes replace more of what we do.
    We're near (perhaps already past) the point where we should ask ourselves: how much DO we want technology to take over our lives? Cyberpunk posits a possible future where technology has degraded the value of humanity, but we should ask ourselves what aspects of technology lead to such degradation, and how can we reap the benefits of technology while avoiding those aspects?

    For an example, I'm reminded of a virtual reality conference in Las Vegas a few years ago, where a local brothel encouraged conference-goers to have sex in reality rather than in virtual reality. It's easy to snicker at that now, but imagine when the difference becomes blurrier, that might not be such a preposterous plea. If sex in virtual reality becomes more convenient, safe, and pleasurable than real-world sex; what kind of side-effects could that have to society, or to gender relations? Such VR sex (with NPCs) would arguably degrade the value of human sexual relationships.

    I'm not saying society can (or should) stop technological development, just that people may want to go through 'technology planning' (a la family planning) at some point in their lives, to decide how much they want it to pervade their personal lives. Banning usage of degrading technology will become increasingly futile over time, as deployment becomes easier; it's more plausible that society will change to accept what they must and avoid what they can and want to.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Let the Right One In by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Such VR sex (with NPCs) would arguably degrade the value of human sexual relationships.

      Well, it should do wonders to empowering women. No longer will they have to second guess the motives of someone asking them out to dinner, since simply fucking would not only be more pleasurable but also cheaper in VR.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Let the Right One In by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      Basic this is what the Amish do isn't it. They as a community make decisions about what technology is "good for them" and what isn't. They allow some technologies like the telephone to have specific use cases and reject its presence elsewhere.

      I am not sure its working out well for them. There are definitely healthy thriving Amish communities but there are also ones that have some really deep problems.

      I am not sure 'technology planning' will scale up either into our larger freedom valuing society. Without the ability to forbid others for using technologies people who don't choose to use them will have a terribly difficult time competing. Who is going to be more convincing in the meeting, the guy with brain implant that lets him look up facts etc without pausing or breaking eye contact with those listing or you going in knowing only what you know plus a few written notes and/or having to say excuse me let me check on that and turning to your laptop or phone?

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    3. Re:Let the Right One In by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can't be more wrong than that. It's men who's going to be free from the willings of women, and that's why feminists are absolutely against sex robots et al.

    4. Re:Let the Right One In by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course you can also say women will be empowered in the sense that, as they will be unable to achieve things just by spreading their legs anymore, they will have actually start learning and doing stuff by themselves.

    5. Re:Let the Right One In by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go read The Machine Stops. Kind of raises these issues, already in 1909.
      https://manybooks.net/titles/forstereother07machine_stops.html

      "The natural state of technology is to advance by becoming more efficient, effective, and to encompass and sometimes replace more of what we do."
      I disagree: Software.
      Definitely not more efficient through web browsers.

    6. Re:Let the Right One In by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are definitely healthy thriving Amish communities but there are also ones that have some really deep problems.

      Compared to what? I'd take cows shitting in a pasture rather than homeless shitting in the streets.

    7. Re:Let the Right One In by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Search on Google for: "Sex robots epitomize patriarchy and offer men a solution to the threat of female independence"

    8. Re:Let the Right One In by epine · · Score: 1

      We're near (perhaps already past) the point where we should ask ourselves: how much DO we want technology to take over our lives?

      Open that door, and suddenly you'll discover that the wee "we" is a giant Pandora's box.

      Lemma: We agree on nothing.

      Proof: Well, I'd provide one, but you probably wouldn't even read it, so you might as well make your own.

    9. Re:Let the Right One In by sp0tter · · Score: 1

      Who is going to be more convincing in the meeting, the guy with brain implant that lets him look up facts etc without pausing or breaking eye contact

      that guy is constantly getting visually assaulted with "Firmware update required" and "Hot new deals available near you!" modal dialogs boxes beamed directly into his retina. We had to lock him in a closet once when the vocalization subroutines got hacked he just kept singing rick rolls all day

      --
      you don't eat crackers in the bed of your future--or else you'll get all scratchy
    10. Re:Let the Right One In by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Why are women having to second guess anything around you?

      Instead of being Schrodinger's date where juts status as a date is left entirely ambiguous, you need to risk rejection and actually ask her on a date so your intentions for future romantic involvement are abundantly clear.

      On the other hand you only seem to be considering the monetary cost of getting your dick wet, not actual dating. Why not just visit a sex worker rather than faff around with dinners if you wanna a purely transactional model of sex?

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    11. Re:Let the Right One In by mentil · · Score: 1

      I meant that technology planning would be more of a personal choice than a societal choice. The Amish accept or reject technologies based on the question of if it brings them closer together or separates them, thus the automobile and telephone are controversial because they can be argued to do both.

      I fully accept that there's no stopping technology in the industrial sector, for competitiveness/productivity reasons, and it's folly to attempt to do so. Thus why I'm talking about personal choices.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    12. Re:Let the Right One In by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Don't ask me, I don't do that dating thing. But I do know that a lot of people do. No, I don't get that either.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    13. Re:Let the Right One In by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Oh c'mon, it's way easier to reduce men to the important bits than women. I'm fairly sure dildos are older and easier to produce than fake pussies.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  13. What tech? His tech? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And not, say, electrification, running water, and indoor plumbing?

  14. Purpose of tech ... by Alain+Williams · · Score: 3, Interesting

    should be to make everyone's lives better (happier, easier, richer, less hassled, ...), not to make a few richer at the expense of everyone else.

  15. ORLY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a fucking bullshit.

    I hardly could fathom anything useful coming from Zuckerberg's mouth. This guy is full of shit, no matter how many millions or billions he made it. Can't compare him to Jobs or Gates or anybody like.

    Moron.

    1. Re:ORLY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I Second that. This guy words were never worth listen to.

  16. As if that robot knows anything re human society by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From what I can tell the only society he's qualified to talk about is that among his fellow Chucky Cheese robots.

  17. oooh talking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More useless blather by self important oafs always makes a difference. I guess he's still reeling from socjus piranha attacks over the trump election.

    Serves him right. Piranhas make poor bedfellows.

  18. Nice word smithing. by Puls4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Everything this man does is focused on his business in making money. In this case, one should focus on this statement:

    "the tradeoffs we face"

    This is just a continuing damage control tour where he will very careful phrase things to make government officials believe that he should be allowed to do what he does because it's necessary for his business model. The reality of the situation is there may be trade offs, but it should be a decision left up to the consumer. The consumer should has the easy, straightforward ability to opt in of every type of data collection. Otherwise they are by default opted OUT. The problem right now is that by default, every person on the planet is opted IN and has no way to tell the corporations and governments to stop collecting data on them.

    He'll even try making the point that they have to know who you are and what you are doing so that they won't collect the data. This is the famous "send us all your nude pics so we can make sure we don't post them somewhere". Again - the reality to that situation is to enforce a stop on all anoonymous data collection as well that ties back to any single entity. Because even that can easily be distilled back down to the individual through geolocation and other means.

    Stop collecting data on us you assholes.

    1. Re:Nice word smithing. by Quakeulf · · Score: 1

      Making money? You think that is his goal? Then you are too naive. His goal is absolute ownership of his users, and then the world. His megalomania surpasses money, which is just for us to worry about. He is above all of it, including the law, and he knows it.

  19. Mark Zuckerberg's place in society is: by Quakeulf · · Score: 1

    The deathrow.

  20. Social media is new now? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Learning the language of Communist China.
    Lots of ads.
    More bans for people trying to publish their own content online.

    How about going back to the American idea of the freedom of speech and freedom after speech?
    The freedom to publish and the freedom of the press?

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    1. Re:Social media is new now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I get your point, but, Mandarin isn't just the official language of red China. It's also the official language of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

  21. Probably one of the least trusted people in tech.. by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    ... should be the last person to discuss tech's place in society.

  22. His resolution is to talk instead of do? by Daralantan · · Score: 1

    Then again, with what he's done with facebook.... maybe just talking IS better than him doing anything.

  23. Can't delete Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apparently tech's place in society is to intrude on your life through your phone whether you want to or not. That's what Facebook thinks anyways.

  24. I misread the summary. by hey! · · Score: 1

    This is what I saw when I was skimming:

    Mark Zuckerberg challenged himself to create an AI assassin for his home

    .

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  25. Zuckerberg Plans to Launch Propaganda Tour... by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

    ...as to why you need Facebook. Would have been a simpler title.

  26. Depth of businnes model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The depths to which facebook (Zuckerberg) has gone just to make money will shatter the world when they ALL surface. We've barely seen the tip of the Iceberg yet.

  27. Compromised either way. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He means just how much should peoples use of technology to seemingly improve their lives, drive ad revenue, information sharing for profit without getting slapped down with regulation from the Government.

  28. Not an Impartial Discussion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why anyone would think that this "discussion" delivered by a tech billionaire will be anything but one-sided is beyond me. Fuck Zuck.

  29. Huh? by Shotgun · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does anyone consider Zuckerburg an authority on anything? The truth is that he got lucky. He used the money from some rich fellow students to clone another social media app at a time when the world was ready for social media apps. It had been quite a while since Citizen Band radio had declined, and most people had forgotten what a pointless clusterfuck of people with nothing to say that was. They were once again ready to parade their narcissism, and Zuck got lucky that they chose his from among several competitors, MySpace being the most well known. There wasn't a technical reason that FB was superior, it was initially because it was seen to be composed of a more exclusive club.

    What exactly in that category qualifies this dufus to be an expert on anything other than getting lucky at the right time? I'm just as interested in hearing about the social impact of rehabilitating the buffalo population from lottery winners.

    --
    Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
    Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
  30. Yeah yeah by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    Mark Zuckerberg’s resolution is to try to anything he can to resurrect his reputation.

    Whenever I see Zuckerberg opining about some generic tech topic, It seems immediately obvious he’s in the same boat as Nathan Myhrvold - he’s gotten filthy rich by screwing over other people, but desperately wants that to not be his legacy.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  31. Intrusive Advertising’s Place in Society by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

    I would much rather see how he would justify [intrusive] advertising and targeted propaganda’s place in modern society.

    1. Re:Intrusive Advertising’s Place in Society by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      It makes him money. That is the real reason, any other that he gives is just window dressing to make you (and maybe himself) feel good.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  32. hyperbole across the board by hdyoung · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So much hyperbole on facebook recently in so many directions.

    Zuckerberg is not a saint or a devil, not a megalomaniac, not intent on ruling the world, not all that intent on changing it. He's very intelligent and hard working, but no more so than hundreds of thousands of other people. He's not a genius and has no particularly unique vision. He is neither evil nor especially good.

    Zuckerberg is a guy who dropped out of college to develop a web app. There were (at least) thousands of other people doing exactly this in the late 90s and early 2000s. His app wasn't (and isn't) particularly original - lots of people had ideas for social networking apps. Through a bit of savvy business strategy and a lot of pure dumb luck, he wound up as one of the very few people who made it big from that wave of app developers.

    Don't lose sight of the fact that ZUCKERBERG IS AN AD MAN. Companies pay him to display ads in places where lots of eyeballs will see them. That's his business. Period. End. Of. Story. His ad medium is an internet-based social networking service. Before that, ad men used cable TV. Before that, broadcast TV. Before that, magazines and newspapers. New medium, same business. One can make arguments that computing and the internet make it fundamentally different, but that's just hubris. "I must be unique from all the generations of human that came before me". Sorry, nope. The internet hasn't transformed us into anything substantially different.

    You want to know what facebook is going to do or say in any situation? Ask yourself what would maintain or expand their ability to SELL ADS to other companies. That's what they'll do. That's their business. That's why they exist.

  33. Considering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the current definition of "AI" and the fact that he can just sit at home all day (while others shop, cook, take care of his kid for him, etc.) "studying" Mandarin it should be easy to do both in a year.

  34. My Life...Mein Kampf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This isn't the first time a person has infused the public with their personal crap in order to control things. Maybe the public is now unaware of how this kind of stuff destroyed the world and caused so much misery due to the current lack of actual education and awareness. People who lived through the disaster of Germany in the 30's recognize INSTANTLY what this completely disgusting and sick abuse actually is. Cult of personality and self stroking.

    Zuckerberg is a liar.

  35. Zuckerberg confirmed for COMMUNIST SYMPATHIZER by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "wants to learn Mandarin"
    Wow big surprise since Facebook resembles the Chinese government way of treating people more and more every week.
    Zuckerberg needs to be arrested as a traitor to the United States and Facebook should be shut down and destroyed.

  36. Irrelevant by emaname · · Score: 1

    This strikes me as an effort made by a person who is afraid of becoming irrelevant.

    --
    An effective "democracy" creates the illusion the people have a say in their government.
  37. Mark Zuckerberg's Society? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given that Mark Zuckerberg's basic ideas on society are themselves troubling, his ideas on how technology would fuel such a society are bound to be even more troubling.

  38. oh your work has spoken for itself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and we don't like it.

  39. zuckerberg is a programmer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Zuckerberg is a programmer and a crappy one too. If you ever watch talks by facebook engineers, you'll see most of the early efforts were fixing the broken crap he wrote. Honestly, he wasn't a particularly good programmer either. They literally wrote an insane amount of code to fix the scalability/performance issue of Php. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    He was lucky and had a rich friend who bankrolled the website. A good programmer wouldn't have written such crappy code.

  40. Wrong guy to be doing this by adfraggs · · Score: 1

    Zuckerberg would have to fundamentally change who he is in order to come out the other side of these "debates" and actually do something useful. He's never going to be an advocate for important social issues, personal privacy or putting limits on technology invading every part of our lives. He made facebook. That's who Mark Zuckerberg is. His strengths and talents are in making facebook successful, not figuring out how to nicely integrate it into a more healthy society. If he wants to see something actually change then he needs to be willing to let go and give some control to someone else who cares about different things rather than the success of his tech baby. He's never going to be suitably motivated to actually get it right.

  41. Pffft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He hasn't learned Mandarin, he doesn't understand artificial intelligence / deep learning and couldn't write it himself if he wanted to, and he thinks that he can pay Samsung so you can't delete Facebook off your phone.

    What a shithead.

  42. tech's place in society by sad_ · · Score: 1

    is certainly not to be a massive spy-machine.

    --
    On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.