Optimization vs. General Welfare in a Technology-Driven World?

I recently started reading the book System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot by Rob Reich, who directs Stanford’s Center for Ethics in Society; Mehran Sahami, who directs Stanford’s undergraduate computer science program; and Jeremy M. Weinstein, who leads Stanford Impact Labs. Through each author’s background and perspectives, one of data ethics, one of a technologist, and one of political science, the book highlights the role Big Data plays in our lives and how many of Silicon Valley’s brightest minds view technology in relation to consumers and society as a whole.

The book starts off with the chapter: The Imperfections of the Optimization Mindset. In this chapter, the authors discuss how the core of technology and computer science is set on improving the efficiency of daily tasks and solving problems at lightning speed. This could be through developing algorithms that can parse through data or through digitizing processes that are seen as bothersome or not as efficient. It is the optimization mindset that fuels most, if not all, technologists today. Through the story of Rob Rhinehart’s development of Soylent, a powder that can be made into a shake that provides all needed nutrients, the optimization mindset is exemplified. This powder was created to reduce time spent eating in order for that time to be used working, and further optimizing, in addition to reducing the environmental impact of farms and reducing agriculture overall. While this is seen as a win by users of Soylent, as environmental impact is a buzzword in today’s society and the savior complex of many entrepreneurs leads to a newly found consciousness of the lower and working class’ day to day “dirty jobs,” one cannot help but think about how this leads to the overall decrease of jobs in this sector and for those in the lower class that depend on agriculture. Innovation at the highest level is being used to remove farm labor rather than taking the time to reform it, further pushing up the upper class while leaving those lower to fend for themselves. Food also serves as a means of social connection and the livelihoods of many, all of which Soylent ignores and completely eradicates.

It is this mindset that the authors encourage readers to use as optimization stays at the core of technologists’ efforts and is codified into the nature of computer science. Many technologists become blind to the societal impacts of their work and question whether the problems they are trying to optimize are even worth solving. Many are trained to increase efficiency and meet proxies, but subsequently, many do not think about the true nature of what they are trying to make more efficient and whether the outcomes will be a net benefit. This book seeks to understand how to navigate this issue as well as provide solutions on how we as a society can question the work of one of our nation’s top-earning sectors and the motives of top millionaires and billionaires, capitalizing off of our data-driven world.

As I continue reading this book, I will write posts that will contribute to a larger picture of the role data ethics plays in our society and how future innovation may or may not uplift our world if not completely crumble it.

Cover image by Kasia Bojanowska on Dribbble.