Looks like the guys at the Pied Piper offices have been watching the congressional hearings involving Facebook, Twitter and Google. And it’s all sparked Dinesh to share how scared he is about the ethical failings of the tech industry.
Kumail Nanjiani, the actor who portrays the sarcastic coder on the HBO series, jumped on Twitter Wednesday to unload a tweet stream about something he couldn’t get out of his head — despite the “scary stuff” going on in the world right now.
But what Nanjiani was tweeting about is some of the scary stuff. And as an actor on a show that happens to create circumstances where he gets to interact with real, live tech workers, Nanjiani had some interesting insight into whether tech is paying enough attention to the ethical implications of a lot of the products and services being put out into the world.
Check out his tweets:
Thread: I know there's a lot of scary stuff in the world rn, but this is something I've been thinking about that I can't get out of my head.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 1, 2017
As a cast member on a show about tech, our job entails visiting tech companies/conferences etc. We meet ppl eager to show off new tech.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 1, 2017
Often we’ll see tech that is scary. I don’t mean weapons etc. I mean altering video, tech that violates privacy, stuff w obv ethical issues.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 1, 2017
And we’ll bring up our concerns to them. We are realizing that ZERO consideration seems to be given to the ethical implications of tech.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 1, 2017
They don’t even have a pat rehearsed answer. They are shocked at being asked. Which means nobody is asking those questions.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 1, 2017
“We’re not making it for that reason but the way ppl choose to use it isn’t our fault. Safeguard will develop.” But tech is moving so fast.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 1, 2017
Interesting, at least from his own perspective, that the guy who plays a techie on TV seems more concerned about video altering and privacy and so on than the people making the stuff. And that Nanjiani is left feeling like no one is asking the relevant questions about ethics.
It just seems like a race to be first at all costs, with the hope that safeguards will catch up. Similar to a lot of what has been on display in Washington, D.C., with representatives of the biggest tech companies in the world explaining what went wrong on their platforms in regard to Russia and the election.
As Nanjiani concludes: “Tech is moving so fast.”
