As humans we do a lot of dangerous things—some for fun (like climbing or cave-diving!) and some routinely as part of modern life (drive, fly, factories, medicine) etc. Many more mature industries and sports have extensive experience in iterative, long-term learning in safety.
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There is obviously a lot of smart and creative people in tech, but they suffer from an Achilles Heel trio of weaknesses: self-perceived idealism as excuse, overconfidence in their capabilities outside their own areas of expertise, and lack of attentiveness to details and harms.
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In contrast, people like those top cave-divers who found & rescued the boys (their technical achievement & bravery is one for the ages) come from an opposite culture that is no less innovative but very very different. It's also quite modest so that hides the amazing nature of it.
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Stanton and Volanthen—who first made it to the boys and shot the remarkable video of them huddling in jerseys—brushed off media while first entering the cave, refusing to give interviews and just said “we’ve got a job to do.” Volanthen went back to work day after rescue.
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Replying to @zeynep
Your point is that people in tech should refuse to do interviews because journalists are… ? I’m not sure, actually.
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Replying to @bertil_hatt @zeynep
I can't speak for
@zeynep, but my reading is: Silicon Valley often has a culture of hype-seeking and a "move fast and break stuff" doctrine. All that can be actively obstructive in cases like this. So SV can learn from this modest, serious, risk-grounded hype-averse ethic.1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @__stillPoint @zeynep
SV, or at least the successful companies, have a very extensive process for code verification. You praise airliners but you forget how many delays, gare changes, lost luggage’s they deem acceptable.
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Replying to @bertil_hatt @zeynep
Let's make a distinction between local engineering decisions & in-the-market behaviour. We don't have equivalent of code verification for social & ecosystemic effects. These guys have those processes. Musk didn't engage w people who cld help w that. That's what could be learned.
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The code inside that sub was no doubt watertight. The domain experts are on record as saying the way that the sub related to the ecosystem was absolutely not.
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Replying to @__stillPoint @zeynep
Musk did communicate with someone who he thought was on the ground. All SV companies hire UX researchers to do the same. Data analytics has less empathy, but does the same. Claiming otherwise is just denying the existence of not one but two entire lines of work.
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It's actually not a good idea to use one's billionnaire reach to communicate with the top diver whose time was the most precious resource in that rescue. At the time, he's going to say "sure, go for it." He's a Brit, and the rescue looked hopeless and you're promising a rocket.
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