• quantum_mechanic@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Lol, how simplistic do you have to be to believe this means anything? First off, you need to believe in good and evil, which are completely arbitrary. And do you think they thought “hmm, we need to start doing evil things do extract more profit… Change the motto so everybody knows! But then we’ll pretend to not be evil when confronted about this change…”

    Maybe being evil would be to not change the motto and start doing evil acts anyway. Simpler answer is that somebody probably thought it was a stupid thing to have on there in the first place, and was likely thought up by a Cheeto stained LOTR neckbeard.

    • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      “Good and evil are arbitrary” mfers when I chop off their balls and feed them to their kids because I wanted to:

    • Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      They started deemphasizing the motto when they became a conglomerate in 2015, and removed it completely in 2018 after employees started getting fired for criticizing Google’s shady dealings with the Customs and Border Protection Agency.

      Essentially, the employees argued that Google including “don’t be evil” in their contracts made them ethically obligated to speak up against bad behavior, and they didn’t actually want that. So it appears Google did indeed have a definition of “evil,” and when forced to choose between changing their practice or their definition, they chose the latter.

    • skulblaka@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      It’s what is known as a canary statement. Taken from when miners used to take canaries into the mines so that the bird would die first if there was toxic gas.

      If the canary is dead, something is wrong. Google had it in their mission statement to not do bad things, then that was quietly removed. The canary is dead.

    • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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      1 year ago

      Spoken like a guy who wants to avoid getting in trouble for being a bad person

      Google seems a great fit for you

      • seth@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        We should’ve seen it coming; I just realized I’ve never heard “ogle” used in a positive way, and it’s what the company name is literally commanding us to do. Hindsight is 20/20.

    • Gabu@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      So what you’re saying is that driving a rusty nail through your eyeball into your brain isn’t evil at all, and totally fine to do?