Drafting a theoretical political platform

1,008 Views | 5 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by kb2001
Bradley.Kohr.II
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AG
Any tech issues to address, aside from China's de facto cyber war against US Companies/Piracy?

That and making data mining be admitted to very plainly/requiring the ability of a user to "buy" their own ID back, at the same/comparable price it is sold for.

Any other nations actively engaged in piracy?
kb2001
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The top thing that would be high on my list is to fix the patent system for software. It's horribly behind the times, and inadequate for the software industry. Along these same lines, the litigation that ensues over patent infringement is absurd. The cost to defend yourself can ruin your business, the cost to defend your patents is often too high.

Additionally, regarding privacy, I think the problem is a lot more severe than you think. However, it comes from so many things being public record, and isn't really a technology problem, it's a problem that technology has revealed and made more severe. Regarding tech specifically, the real problems with privacy, more specifically with privacy lawsuits is the way they are handled in litigation, and the cy pres results which are allowed

One example, in 2011 Google paid part of their settlement to an ethics center at a law school where the judge sits on the faculty. Other times, they pay their fines to charities and non-profits that they setup originally or already have a stake in. The worst of it is, the lawyers for either side don't care, because they still get paid regardless. The larger problem with these types of behaviors and settlements is that the companies have very little incentive to actually fix privacy concerns. They can settle with cy pres awards, and their fines will get routed to charities they already support. Meaning, their annual donation is just a court ordered payment this year instead. What about the people who brought the lawsuit, they can just disagree, right? Wrong, the agreement for such a settlement is between the plaintiff's lawyers, the defense, and the judge; the plaintiffs have no say

Longer article about just how dirty this is:
http://fortune.com/2012/07/30/google-and-facebooks-new-tactic-in-the-tech-wars/

I guess most of the tech problems come down to lawyers being lawyers, it's just a shame the corruption that is allowed, and the financial bullying that happens because of it.
BusterAg
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I find it funny that you think that the problem with privacy is a corruption problem, but the problems with patents is not.

There is a reason why the head of the PTO was formerly a Google employee, and why software patents are getting destroyed by the PTAB.

In the mean time, pharma companies are getting patents granted and protected with very unethical evergreening practices.
JSKolache
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Any national intelligence service worth its salt is actively engaged in piracy/snooping. What they do with their research is the real issue. Spying on us to catch terrorists & stop mass hysteria - maybe OK. Spying on us to crack down on dissent and/or consolidate power - not OK.
Bradley.Kohr.II
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Piracy is what China does. It hacks data from private companies to give to affiliated Chinese competitors - quite a few Chines companies are connected to senior members of their military. These are revenue generating acts, not national defense ones - other than that the Chinese view their tech manufacturing ability as part of their national defense.

Espionage is what you are discussing, and goes back to, at least David
Atreides Ornithopter
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We should probably head off the eugenics stuff. It will happen. we don't need a KHAAANNNNNN!!!
kb2001
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quote:
I find it funny that you think that the problem with privacy is a corruption problem, but the problems with patents is not.

There is a reason why the head of the PTO was formerly a Google employee, and why software patents are getting destroyed by the PTAB.

In the mean time, pharma companies are getting patents granted and protected with very unethical evergreening practices.
You're referring to a government wide problem of industry insiders filling government roles. This is certainly a problem, the patent office is no exception, but no amount of sanctity would make the current patent system work for software. That's like saying the fuel filter is clogged while ignoring that the car has no engine, no drivetrain, and no wheels.

That said, I think I should clarify that it's the lack of incentive for the large tech companies to protect privacy that drives the problem. I point to the corrupt nature of the cy pres awards in civil suits as an example of how the system there is already broken and ineffective against large tech companies
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