hollyhoppet

hollyhoppet wrote (edited )

Reply to Computers are fun but as a society we have taken them too far. by flabberghaster

I see it as a resource allocation problem that is caused by a motive for profit rather than a motive to make things that address needs of the people as a whole. A lot of software intended for really good and helpful purpose just gets completely ignored or is total garbage.

There are probably applications in computing for making our industries and infrastructure more efficient and safer that we can't even dream of. For example, I used to work for a company that built software used to simulate municipal water networks to do things such as track leaks, minimize water waste, and ensure efficient temperature management. The company was about 10 people large but the software serviced hundreds of cities, many in arid or desert regions of the world, where water conservation is paramount.

Unfortunately, the software was extremely buggy, as cities just don't have the money to compete with the amazons and googles of the world. Sometimes I wonder how amazing we could have made those tools if we had 25, or hell, 100 people.

No, I don't think we've taken computers too far. I think we've been coerced to attend to diversions that largely benefit those with access to the levers of power. I think in a liberated society we could take the wealth of talent and science we have and use it to solve actual problems.

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