I agree with both of you @Free and @lisatwin1,
Exploitative businesses are everywhere. Exploitation in one form or another has become the norm, because - with our current economic systems - this is where the road to ‘success’ leads. With success being superficially defined as economic benefit, business growth and commercial profit (greed?). Our ‘modern’ society does not define success as increasing the wellbeing and happiness of people in general.
Tech is all pervasive and most important driver for business innovation, but not necessarily (or: often not) leading to human progress.
I think the majority of tech workers cannot be blamed (if that is the right word) directly for the exploitation that results from their work. This exploitation results from a very complex system, and ‘blame’ is spread more evenly across the entire population, ranging from consumers, tech workers, to higher management / leadership. IMHO - if blame is applied - like with e.g. climate change, most of responsibility is a the leadership level.
I think if you interviewed the average tech worker, you’ll find very good people, with proper (personal) morals and ethics. Problem is they work on the small moving parts, and are for the most part blinded, ignorant on how these fit into the whole. And here - I agree @Free - we should raise their awareness. To not look only at the cool code on their screen, but look up and around to see how it will be used.
I’ve moved this post to the ‘Engagement’ category. The Engage Employees strategic pillar of CHT and HTC aims to make tech workers aware of the ethics of their activities and the humane tech solutions that are available to work in a different, better ways.
Especially the ethics aspect is important. Empowering tech workers to call out their management when business decisions do not align to proper human interests (but e.g. instead only benefit the bottom line of a small group of shareholders) is the goal. I found @tristanh’s keynote speech at Dreamforce conference a very powerful example of how to influence business stakeholders and the work floor (the SalesForce CEO is very pro Humane Tech, though I think the underlying reason has a lot to do with the dominance and perceived threat of FAANG to the business).
There is a category of people that may need a harsher treatment than just raising awareness: Those that are knowingly involved in unethical practices, finding new ways to exploit people for profit. Some good examples are described in this opinion piece that appeared in The Guardian on New Years’ Eve:
Highlight mine:
[…] while considering the frenzy of consumerism that rises beyond its usual planet-trashing levels at this time of year, I recently stumbled across a paper that astonished me. It was written by academics at public universities in the Netherlands and the US. Their purpose seemed to me starkly at odds with the public interest. They sought to identify “the different ways in which consumers resist advertising, and the tactics that can be used to counter or avoid such resistance”.
Apparently used by Facebook (who deny that):
Facebook, according to a leaked report, carried out research – shared with an advertiser – to determine when teenagers using its network feel insecure, worthless or stressed. These appear to be the optimum moments for hitting them with a micro-targeted promotion.
Naming and shaming in public of people involved may be in order here.