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voidhorse | 19 days ago

Your water supply definitely wants ethical companies.

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nradov|19 days ago

Ethics are all well and good but I would prefer to have quantified limits for water quality with strict enforcement and heavy penalties for violations.

voidhorse|19 days ago

Of course. But while the lawmakers hash out the details it's good to have companies that err on the safe side rather than the "get rich quick" side.

Formal restrains and regulations are obviously the correct mechanism, but no world is perfect, so whether we like it or not ourselves and the companies we work for are ultimately responsible for the decisions we make and the harms we cause.

De-emphasizing ethics does little more than give large companies cover to do bad things (often with already great impunity and power) while the law struggles to catch up. I honestly don't see the point in suggesting ethics is somehow not important. It doesn't make any sense to me (more directed at gp than parent here)

alex43578|19 days ago

Is it ethical for a water company to shutoff water to a poor immigrant family because of non-payment? Depending on the AI's political and DEI-bend, you're going to get totally different answers. Having people judge an AI's response is also going to be influenced by the evaluator's personal bias.

pjc50|19 days ago

I note in the UK that it is illegal for water companies to cut off anyone for non-payment, even if they're an Undesirable. This is because humans require water.

voidhorse|19 days ago

I was thinking more about externalities, e.g. some company dumping chemical pollutants into a nearby water system, and not water companies themselves.