Connected Vehicle Technology & F150

[KAH 24]

I'm an engineer, so part of me agrees 110% with you. The other part looks at big tech today and worries. Take Google, which started out with the mission statement "Don't be evil". They evolved into a company that stalks their users for profit and became very profitable. Farcebook started out with the business model of stalking their users for profit and became very profitable. My point is that even companies with great intentions are driven by the profit motive to make the most of their assets, in this case, your personal data. They all seem to end up in the same place.

There are other considerations. I just finished reading "Weapons of Math Destruction". It was good. TLDR? The unbiased algorithms meant to be more fair than human judgement are in many cases less fair. Far less fair. But the opaque nature of the algorithm means that it's judgement is seldom questioned by the user. I'm now reading "Surveillance Capitalism". Nothing earth-shattering so far, but I'm just starting. Having gobs of data and fast computers is a powerful tool. But powerful tools can be misused. Given human history, I'd say that if a powerful tool can be misused, it will be.

@GordoJay

Good to hear from a fellow engineer. You clearly understand that leading multiple engineering teams that have various team goals—must align under a shared vision/goal. Ethical behavior and honest behavior are at the top of the pyramid. Embrace it or leave.

I am that Boy Scout who does shake my head at leaders and companies who abuse power. That said, we shouldn’t fear Big Data due to bad actors. I believe that there are enough good leaders—at least in our shared profession of engineering—to outweigh the bad.

It sounds corny, but I have shared with many teams I’ve been privileged to lead in the military and civilian world—“Uncle Ben told Spider Man—with great power comes great responsibility.”