Google turning evil? Removes majority of "Don't be evil" from their CoC

[iRileyx]

(Not 100% sure if this is tech news but its news about Google so i guess?! Also not sure if it links to the previous thread that I'll link below)

 

This Is The End Of Google's 'Don't Be Evil' Mantra

 

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Google released an updated code of conduct, which for the first time in almost two decades removed almost all mentions of its “Don't be evil” mantra. The code of conduct embodies a company's values, principles, and ideals, so removing the "Don't be evil" motto from the code may give us a hint towards the direction in which Google is going.

While this is certainly a strange thing to be posting and for people to be picking up on, after the recent fiasco which involved 100s of employees protesting about their military envolvement, maybe there's some hidden meaning behind it?
After 2 decades it does definitely seem odd that they'd remove it now.

 

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Google Renounces 'Don’t Be Evil'

Following a protest made by thousands of Google employees against the company’s increasing involvement with the U.S. military and its work on autonomous drones, the company has eliminated all mentions of the “Don’t be evil” mantra from its Code of Conduct. 

An older version of its code of conduct from earlier this year that was saved by the Archive.orgwebsite contained the following:

“Don’t be evil.” Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But “Don’t be evil” is much more than that. Yes, it’s about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But it’s also about doing the right thing more generally – following the law, acting honorably, and treating co-workers with courtesy and respect.

The new code of conduct no longer centers around this motto, making almost no mention of it, except in passing at the very end of the multi-page document.

If the motto was truly just a marketing tactic, then there was little reason to minimize or discontinue it. However, after recently being called on it by its employees, Google may have started to believe that the “Don’t be evil” motto could encourage more employees to question and protest the company’s future projects that may be in an ethically grey area.

 

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What’s Google Without 'Don’t Be Evil?'

So now the question remains: What is Google now that it no longer seems to believe in “not being evil?” Is it just another corporation doing anything to make a buck? If so, this will not be without consequences for the company’s future. As evidenced by the letter signed by thousands of Google employees, going down this path could mean less interest from developers to work for the company.

Don't be evil has been Google's corporate identity for the longest time, but now that's no longer true. Whether or not we'll like this new Google that can't commit to not being evil anymore remains to be seen, but some of its latest moves already point to an increasingly worrying direction for the company.

Considering that don't be evil was a main part of Google, in my opinion symbolising that they weren't like all the other big companies out there and were doing what they were for the purposes of good, It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks, months and maybe even years.

 

Maybe they decided that it was just time to remove it as a central part of their conduct? Or maybe there is something else at play here, but it's certainly causing some mystery thats for sure.

 

For anyone wondering what the happenings with employees protesting was about, there's a thread for that here. Where the "Don't be evil" line is also brought up, however at that time, it was still included.

 

Sauce - https://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-don-t-be-evil-end,37082.html

[iRileyx]

I hope the title updates in notification cause i forgot to update that before posting  changed now anyways.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I mean Google is probably developing Skynet so it was coming eventually.

[Enderman]

Evil is subjective.

They're just doing what any regular corporation would do to avoid getting sued.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Just now, Enderman said:

Evil is subjective.

They're just doing what any regular corporation would do to avoid getting sued.

What? How would that get them sued?

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, orbitalbuzzsaw said:

What? How would that get them sued?

Are you aware of what a CoC is or how it works?

 

If someone takes them to court because "they did X and this is evil and it affected me in some way" and it says in their CoC to "not be evil" then they would have to pay money.

Just like the terms and conditions of a product.

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

2 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Are you aware of what a CoC is or how it works?

 

If someone takes them to court because "they did X and this is evil and it affected me in some way" and it says in their CoC to "not be evil" then they would have to pay money.

Just like the terms and conditions of a product.

Ahh. Did not know that was how it works. Thanks. Still, Skynet.

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, orbitalbuzzsaw said:

Ahh. Did not know that was how it works. Thanks. Still, Skynet.

Maybe skynet is not such a bad thing 

[Arika]

Google has been evil for a while, them just removing from their CoC wont change much, since it clearly didn't do anything while it was there anyway

[GoldenLag]

"Hey Google, Are you EVIL?"

[Taf the Ghost]

No turning, always has been. That's why they even put the "Don't Be Evil" stuff in there. They're projecting from that which they were doing.

 

They've been a functional Spy Agency for major governments pretty much since the founders went full time. VC money always comes with strings, and the strings on Tech companies are always turning over data to governments. Always.

[bcredeur97]

if you didn't see this coming, lol. 

It was just a matter of *when*

[Drak3]

1 hour ago, bcredeur97 said:

if you didn't see this coming, lol.

I didn't see this coming.

 

Google's always been about blatantly lying regarding their political leanings and data wholesale methods.

[Notional]

They began to remove that years ago. Now Google is infested with neo Marxists/she trying to force their ideology on everyone.

Every major it company is suffering from this now, as they all precide in the ideological echo bubble in the bay area of San Fran. 

 

Google is authoritarian now. Google is evil. 

[Granular]

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Google removes majority of "Don't be evil" from their CoC

Why remove the majority, when they can just remove the "n't" ?

[Master Disaster]

You can quote me on this....

 

If Skynet ever happens Google will have at least some role in it.

[Deus Voltage]

4 hours ago, Notional said:

They began to remove that years ago. Now Google is infested with neo Marxists/she trying to force their ideology on everyone.

Every major it company is suffering from this now, as they all precide in the ideological echo bubble in the bay area of San Fran. 

 

Google is authoritarian now. Google is evil. 

Can you corroborate that information? 

[LAwLz]

Ehm, do people seriously think that the removal of "don't be evil" is Google admitting that they are evil?

Do people not understand that "evil" is a subjective thing and that barely none, if any, "evil humans" actually view themselves as evil?

 

I don't think even Hitler would have described himself as evil since he believed what he did was for the good. Same with Google. Even if you believe they are evil, they themselves don't and wouldn't refer to themselves as being evil.

 

The removal of "don't be evil" is not Google's way of admitting they are evil. It has some other reason, probably because they want their CoC to be more objective and less susceptible to interpretation.

[Notional]

21 minutes ago, Deus Voltage said:

Can you corroborate that information? 

The Damore case is all you need.

[Deus Voltage]

12 minutes ago, Notional said:

The Damore case is all you need.

Corroborate: reliable source.

 

Do you have actual evidence of self professed Marxists in Google? Do you know what Marxism is? Have you read Das Kapital? Are you familiar with the philosophical and economical nuances of late modernist theories?

 

[AlTech]

Google has always been Evil to some extent. Now it's just official in their CoC.

[Delusional Phil]

21 minutes ago, Deus Voltage said:

Corroborate: reliable source.

 

Do you have actual evidence of self professed Marxists in Google? Do you know what Marxism is? Have you read Das Kapital? Are you familiar with the philosophical and economical nuances of late modernist theories?

 

I wouldn't say NeoMarxists cause that word is thrown around so much that it loses its meaning. 

I would say it's sort of like the Gulag for cultural appropiation, where if your ideals do not fit with the majority of the company, you get sacked .

[Doobeedoo]

Google is just being tsundere

[ravenshrike]

I'd ask why anyone was stupid enough to believe it in the first place, but there are people stupid enough to believe anything.

[TacoSenpai]

Its almost like they had this plan all along to first mine everyones data.  Second query results for Connor, John.  Third build Skynet...