[bun_at_work]

> Users must take responsibility for knowing how software works and the motivations of its creators.

This doesn't seem reasonable. Let's try to apply the logic elsewhere:

> Patients must take responsibility for knowing how medicine works and motivations of its creators/prescribers.

Requiring everyone to have deep technical knowledge about anything they use would prevent everyone from using more than the things they are experts in. So, there needs to be either a technological regression, or something to help defend users from unethical practices. The only entity really in a position to do that is a government, for better or worse.

[beeflet]

> Patients must take responsibility for knowing how medicine works and motivations of its creators/prescribers.

This is true. If you blindly trust whatever your doctor says, you are going to have a bad time in the current medical system. Doctors are incentivized to push pills because they get kickbacks from the pharma industry. This is pretty well known (https://www.propublica.org/article/doctors-prescribe-more-of...)

When it comes to Elective surgeries, perscriptions. etc. you need to do your own research to how these things work and make an informed decision for yourself. Ultimately, if you're an adult, you are responsible for your own body and your own equipment.

It's not a matter of deep technical knowledge, it's shallow technical knowledge and political knowledge of what institutions are trustworthy.