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business ethics

  • UpTrust Admin avatar

    Incorruptible Organizations AMA with Eric Ries. Wednesday 2/4 at 3:00 PM CT

    Lean Startup author who now focuses on legal structures to protect mission-driven organizations from corruption. incorruptible.co

    Free book giveaway! Register here.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNfb54LuzwI
    Brother Richard•...
    That is not necessarily true. It is for many companies, but owners (not publicly-traded companies) can choose to put purpose before profits or to find a balance of the two. As it happens, I've literally written a book telling people how to do that....
    business ethics
    corporate governance
    Comments
    0
  • UpTrust Admin avatar

    AMA with Hannah Aline Taylor. Wednesday 2/4 at 4:00 PM CT

    love, boundaries, and mistakes in relating, community, and peopling together (+ thank god love doesn’t look like you expect it to)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNYNL05PRBQ
    Hannah Aline Taylor•...
    I'm not sure I resonate with the idea of a negative response, in equanimity I don't evaluate the world based on good and bad. If someone has a bad time of my missive "I love you" it's for me an indication that we may not be aligned to work together....
    psychology
    philosophy
    business ethics
    Comments
    0
  • UpTrust Admin avatar

    Incorruptible Organizations AMA with Eric Ries. Wednesday 2/4 at 3:00 PM CT

    Lean Startup author who now focuses on legal structures to protect mission-driven organizations from corruption. incorruptible.co

    Free book giveaway! Register here.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNfb54LuzwI
    johnaweiss•...

    Unclear. You're saying mission-driven organizations shouldn't exist? Shouldn't be mission-driven? What alternative do you suggest?

    business ethics
    organizational management
    nonprofit sector
    Comments
    0
  • nat avatar

    I didn't book an accommodation because of AI generated images. I love AI because it has helped me save hours by automating systems, analyzing SEO, and creating website content.

    But today, while researching places to stay in Buenos Aires, I realized that we need to be mindful of when to use AI so that trust is not eroded.

    My wife sent me the link to an apartment listed on Booking dot com. This listing had tons of great reviews but several of the images were clearly AI generated. They were generic. Fake looking. This made me question the reviews too, especially since I saw one name repeatedly pop up under different reviews. 

    I searched for this property on Tripadvisor and saw customer submitted photos. Here I could see that several of the Booking dot com photos were generated based off the customer submitted ones. And the Tripadvisor reviews were fewer and not as favorable.

    We didn't book this place. It may still be a great place to stay. But the use of AI generated images threw me off. 

    I feel like I should have a clearer point to make. But I'm also feeling lazy to come up with one.

    luxurytravel•...
    You didn't book, but I wonder how many did?  You did your due diligence where I fear most people might not... it's rather worrying and undermines those who are striving to be more authentic and transparent....
    consumer behavior
    business ethics
    social responsibility
    Comments
    0
  • dara_like_sara avatar

    IP is a boomer concept in the age of abundance. This is a hot take that really has me thinking. 

    I generally feel negatively toward Kyle for a myriad of reasons, but this is a really interesting proposal. 

    I’m still noodling on it. Thought I’d share so others can join me in the noodling. 

    jordanSA•...
    When you say relative do you mean absolute dollars or percentage of income, or? I think judge "fairness" based on relative cost: if Ghibli's big enough then they can afford to miss out on millions of dollars, but it's not okay if the same thing happens to a broke studio....
    economics
    public policy
    business ethics
    corporate governance
    Comments
    0
  • dara_like_sara avatar

    Timeline of Events in Brian Thompson Assassination. On December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated outside the New York Hilton Midtown. The suspect, later identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, shot Thompson multiple times before fleeing on an e-bike. Thompson was pronounced dead shortly after. Mangione, who stayed in NYC for 10 days prior, was arrested on December 9 in Pennsylvania and charged with second-degree murder. The attack is believed to be a symbolic act targeting the healthcare industry.

    November 24, 2024

    • 10:11 p.m.: Suspect arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia.

    November 24 – December 3, 2024

    • Suspect checks into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side using a falsified New Jersey ID and pays in cash.
    • He stays at the hostel for ten days, checking out on December 3.

    December 4, 2024

    • 5:30 a.m.: Suspect leaves the hostel, likely by bike.
    • 6:15 a.m.: Suspect exits the 57th Street F Train subway station.
    • 6:17 a.m.: Suspect purchases coffee, water, and granola bars at a Starbucks near the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.
    • 6:30 a.m.: Surveillance footage captures the suspect walking while talking on the phone.
    • 6:39 a.m.: Suspect arrives in front of the New York Hilton Midtown hotel and waits.
    • 6:44 a.m.: Brian Thompson leaves his hotel. The assailant shoots him multiple times, then flees northbound via a pedestrian walkway.
    • 6:46 a.m.: Police respond to a 911 call reporting the shooting.
    • 6:48 a.m.: Officers find Thompson with multiple gunshot wounds. He is taken to Mount Sinai West hospital. The assailant is seen riding an e-bike into Central Park.
    • 6:59 a.m.: Suspect is seen riding a bike on West 85th Street.
    • 7:04 a.m.: Suspect enters a northbound taxi at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
    • 7:12 a.m.: Thompson is pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West hospital.

    December 9, 2024

    • Morning: Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with the assassination.
    • Afternoon: Mangione is charged with second-degree murder and other related offenses.

    December 11, 2024

    • Mangione appears in court, contests extradition to New York, and is held without bail pending a governor’s warrant.
    isaac_uptrust•...
    I also wonder about this. My sense is that there's a limit to how much a high-leverage individual (like a CEO) "deserves" to be compensated for the outcomes of their actions....
    economics
    leadership and management
    business ethics
    software industry
    Comments
    0
  • dara_like_sara avatar

    Timeline of Events in Brian Thompson Assassination. On December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated outside the New York Hilton Midtown. The suspect, later identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, shot Thompson multiple times before fleeing on an e-bike. Thompson was pronounced dead shortly after. Mangione, who stayed in NYC for 10 days prior, was arrested on December 9 in Pennsylvania and charged with second-degree murder. The attack is believed to be a symbolic act targeting the healthcare industry.

    November 24, 2024

    • 10:11 p.m.: Suspect arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia.

    November 24 – December 3, 2024

    • Suspect checks into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side using a falsified New Jersey ID and pays in cash.
    • He stays at the hostel for ten days, checking out on December 3.

    December 4, 2024

    • 5:30 a.m.: Suspect leaves the hostel, likely by bike.
    • 6:15 a.m.: Suspect exits the 57th Street F Train subway station.
    • 6:17 a.m.: Suspect purchases coffee, water, and granola bars at a Starbucks near the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.
    • 6:30 a.m.: Surveillance footage captures the suspect walking while talking on the phone.
    • 6:39 a.m.: Suspect arrives in front of the New York Hilton Midtown hotel and waits.
    • 6:44 a.m.: Brian Thompson leaves his hotel. The assailant shoots him multiple times, then flees northbound via a pedestrian walkway.
    • 6:46 a.m.: Police respond to a 911 call reporting the shooting.
    • 6:48 a.m.: Officers find Thompson with multiple gunshot wounds. He is taken to Mount Sinai West hospital. The assailant is seen riding an e-bike into Central Park.
    • 6:59 a.m.: Suspect is seen riding a bike on West 85th Street.
    • 7:04 a.m.: Suspect enters a northbound taxi at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
    • 7:12 a.m.: Thompson is pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West hospital.

    December 9, 2024

    • Morning: Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with the assassination.
    • Afternoon: Mangione is charged with second-degree murder and other related offenses.

    December 11, 2024

    • Mangione appears in court, contests extradition to New York, and is held without bail pending a governor’s warrant.
    jordanSA•...
    You might have a separate limiting belief around money that's getting pinged here, but I think this is an issue with unconscious capitalism.  The argument goes that it's simply free market competition....
    economics
    leadership
    business ethics
    Comments
    0
  • dara_like_sara avatar

    Timeline of Events in Brian Thompson Assassination. On December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated outside the New York Hilton Midtown. The suspect, later identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, shot Thompson multiple times before fleeing on an e-bike. Thompson was pronounced dead shortly after. Mangione, who stayed in NYC for 10 days prior, was arrested on December 9 in Pennsylvania and charged with second-degree murder. The attack is believed to be a symbolic act targeting the healthcare industry.

    November 24, 2024

    • 10:11 p.m.: Suspect arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia.

    November 24 – December 3, 2024

    • Suspect checks into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side using a falsified New Jersey ID and pays in cash.
    • He stays at the hostel for ten days, checking out on December 3.

    December 4, 2024

    • 5:30 a.m.: Suspect leaves the hostel, likely by bike.
    • 6:15 a.m.: Suspect exits the 57th Street F Train subway station.
    • 6:17 a.m.: Suspect purchases coffee, water, and granola bars at a Starbucks near the New York Hilton Midtown hotel.
    • 6:30 a.m.: Surveillance footage captures the suspect walking while talking on the phone.
    • 6:39 a.m.: Suspect arrives in front of the New York Hilton Midtown hotel and waits.
    • 6:44 a.m.: Brian Thompson leaves his hotel. The assailant shoots him multiple times, then flees northbound via a pedestrian walkway.
    • 6:46 a.m.: Police respond to a 911 call reporting the shooting.
    • 6:48 a.m.: Officers find Thompson with multiple gunshot wounds. He is taken to Mount Sinai West hospital. The assailant is seen riding an e-bike into Central Park.
    • 6:59 a.m.: Suspect is seen riding a bike on West 85th Street.
    • 7:04 a.m.: Suspect enters a northbound taxi at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
    • 7:12 a.m.: Thompson is pronounced dead at Mount Sinai West hospital.

    December 9, 2024

    • Morning: Luigi Mangione, 26, is arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in connection with the assassination.
    • Afternoon: Mangione is charged with second-degree murder and other related offenses.

    December 11, 2024

    • Mangione appears in court, contests extradition to New York, and is held without bail pending a governor’s warrant.
    dara_like_saraSA•...
    Here’s a synopsis of some bad shit Brian Thompson was up to: Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, faced significant legal challenges prior to his death....
    legal studies
    business ethics
    corporate governance
    healthcare management
    information security
    Comments
    0
  • jordan avatar

    I want a new archetype for libertarian well-being activist. Maybe it’s an old archetype and some German philosophers have been talking abt it for centuries…

    My climbing gym is called Crux; the original location is moving because the rent is too high, and the landlord won’t work with the climbing gym…

    The gym is in a part of the city that used be considered south, but now is centralish. I think all of austin loses when we lose places like this. We lose our character and our well being.

    I want the landlord to be the libertarian well-being activist. My mom does this for the Relateful Studio. I didn’t ask and no one makes her; hardly anyone knows and she doesn’t get any tax benefits; we still pay her a good bit each month but it’s under market. She’s doing exactly what she wants to be doing with her money and investments: supporting her son’s vision.

    The climbing gym landlord isn’t a bad guy, probably. Maybe he has loads of debt; maybe he has a wound from childhood that he’s trying to heal, but
    Is the climbing gym landlord doing exactly what he wants?

    I want endosymbiosis activists; where what they do is good for the whole and them, and they sacrifice neither. I want this to be a meme, that people strive to be. I want them to brag about it in their hearts, and try to remain undiscovered. I once heard that in Judaism the best mitzvahs are the ones no one knows you did.

    sness•...
    I have a lot of sadness about this thing too. My husband Geof made an interesting comment on it - I was tempted to blame only ABP and the landlord, but he pointed out that Crux must not have advocated for a right of first refusal or other protection in their lease....
    business ethics
    contract law
    relationship management
    Comments
    0
  • jordan avatar

    I want a new archetype for libertarian well-being activist. Maybe it’s an old archetype and some German philosophers have been talking abt it for centuries…

    My climbing gym is called Crux; the original location is moving because the rent is too high, and the landlord won’t work with the climbing gym…

    The gym is in a part of the city that used be considered south, but now is centralish. I think all of austin loses when we lose places like this. We lose our character and our well being.

    I want the landlord to be the libertarian well-being activist. My mom does this for the Relateful Studio. I didn’t ask and no one makes her; hardly anyone knows and she doesn’t get any tax benefits; we still pay her a good bit each month but it’s under market. She’s doing exactly what she wants to be doing with her money and investments: supporting her son’s vision.

    The climbing gym landlord isn’t a bad guy, probably. Maybe he has loads of debt; maybe he has a wound from childhood that he’s trying to heal, but
    Is the climbing gym landlord doing exactly what he wants?

    I want endosymbiosis activists; where what they do is good for the whole and them, and they sacrifice neither. I want this to be a meme, that people strive to be. I want them to brag about it in their hearts, and try to remain undiscovered. I once heard that in Judaism the best mitzvahs are the ones no one knows you did.

    jordanSA•...
    Yeah this is a great distinction, I appreciate it. For the landlord, what I want to say is more it’s a missed opportunity for them to focus more on well-being and community and relationships but ABP has absolutely made their brand out to be community centric, and basically their...
    community development
    real estate
    business ethics
    Comments
    0
  • jordan avatar

    I want a new archetype for libertarian well-being activist. Maybe it’s an old archetype and some German philosophers have been talking abt it for centuries…

    My climbing gym is called Crux; the original location is moving because the rent is too high, and the landlord won’t work with the climbing gym…

    The gym is in a part of the city that used be considered south, but now is centralish. I think all of austin loses when we lose places like this. We lose our character and our well being.

    I want the landlord to be the libertarian well-being activist. My mom does this for the Relateful Studio. I didn’t ask and no one makes her; hardly anyone knows and she doesn’t get any tax benefits; we still pay her a good bit each month but it’s under market. She’s doing exactly what she wants to be doing with her money and investments: supporting her son’s vision.

    The climbing gym landlord isn’t a bad guy, probably. Maybe he has loads of debt; maybe he has a wound from childhood that he’s trying to heal, but
    Is the climbing gym landlord doing exactly what he wants?

    I want endosymbiosis activists; where what they do is good for the whole and them, and they sacrifice neither. I want this to be a meme, that people strive to be. I want them to brag about it in their hearts, and try to remain undiscovered. I once heard that in Judaism the best mitzvahs are the ones no one knows you did.

    blakeSA•...
    I think where I’m at, from reading just what you wrote and linked, is here: re: integrity: I think what the landlord and ABP are doing is in integrity, unless they’ve tried previously to present themselves as mission-driven, caring first and foremost about the Austin climbing...
    community building
    business ethics
    capitalism
    landlord-tenant relations
    Comments
    0
  • jordan avatar

    I want a new archetype for libertarian well-being activist. Maybe it’s an old archetype and some German philosophers have been talking abt it for centuries…

    My climbing gym is called Crux; the original location is moving because the rent is too high, and the landlord won’t work with the climbing gym…

    The gym is in a part of the city that used be considered south, but now is centralish. I think all of austin loses when we lose places like this. We lose our character and our well being.

    I want the landlord to be the libertarian well-being activist. My mom does this for the Relateful Studio. I didn’t ask and no one makes her; hardly anyone knows and she doesn’t get any tax benefits; we still pay her a good bit each month but it’s under market. She’s doing exactly what she wants to be doing with her money and investments: supporting her son’s vision.

    The climbing gym landlord isn’t a bad guy, probably. Maybe he has loads of debt; maybe he has a wound from childhood that he’s trying to heal, but
    Is the climbing gym landlord doing exactly what he wants?

    I want endosymbiosis activists; where what they do is good for the whole and them, and they sacrifice neither. I want this to be a meme, that people strive to be. I want them to brag about it in their hearts, and try to remain undiscovered. I once heard that in Judaism the best mitzvahs are the ones no one knows you did.

    jordanSA•...
    Update: the story gets more dramatic: another climbing gym is taking over the lease! Crux is doing a good job trying not to be too drama-triangly, but man I really hope ABP backs down or works with them somehow bc it’s not high integrity on their part....
    social media
    climbing
    business ethics
    Comments
    0
  • I

    How does "Anderson v TikTok/ByteDance" relate to UpTrust? (continued from the Uptrust slack)

    Links:

    • https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/judges-rule-big-techs-free-ride-on
    • Hacker News discussion

    This stuff was hard for me to make sense of. I think writing about it here has helped.

    The Moody v NetChoice case mentioned in The Big Newsletter is about NetChoice (Facebook, Google, etc.) in reaction to recent laws passed by Florida and Texas. NetChoice claims that content moderation is their right according to the US constitution’s First Amendment

    https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-supreme-court-weigh-state-laws-constraining-social-media-companies-2023-09-29/

    , and therefore it’s unconstitutional to pass a law that places restrictions on a platform’s content moderation ability. Appealing to the First Amendment seems weird, because in my mind it’s associated with freedom of speech, and content moderation doesn’t seem to be a speech-like thing. At the same time, it seems reasonable in general for businesses have some control over the conduct of its patrons, off- and online. The court opinion indicates support for this intuition.

    The Florida law calls for consistent censorship standards on a platform, allowing opt-out of recommendation systems in favour of objective sorting methods, equal opportunity for political candidates and news sources, disclosure of censorship methods and events, and offboarding for censored users. The Texas law prohibits social media companies from censoring users based on their viewpoint (while allowing for removal of illegal content), and requires disclosure of how the platform’s recommendation and moderation systems work, as well as providing reasoning and an appeals process for censored users.

    Next is Anderson v TikTok/ByteDance, the main subject of the The Big Newsletter article. The case was escalated to the US Supreme Court after being dismissed from the District Court. The District Court claimed that the Communications Decency Act, section 230 immunised TikTok. The actual Supreme Court document was surprisingly easy to follow (given that I have no background in law), and it felt like a good overview of the history of this kind of problem.

    Here’s my understanding of what they wrote. The ideas behind Section 230 are:

    • A company isn’t considered the author of some content merely due to having hosted it.

      For example, if someone uploads a copyrighted work to a file-sharing site, then only the uploader has violated copyright, not the file-sharing company.

      Here’s a case where I think this played out reasonably: someone tried to sue some bookstores (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.) for defamation because the bookstores had defamatory content as part of the book’s description on its store page. The defamation claim against the bookstores was dismissed because they were not the ones making the claim; it was copy provided to them by the book’s publisher. Only the publisher and the author remained liable.

    • A companies with some kind of content moderation policy / screening process is not necessarily liable for all content.

      For example, a family-friendly bulletin board that proactively excludes obscene submissions shouldn’t be liable for defamatory content on the grounds that it has some screening process for submissions.

    TikTok tried to argue that its recommendation system is merely an extension of hosting videos, so it shouldn’t be liable for the harm caused by those videos.
    The court dismissed this argument:

    I would affirm the District Court’s judgment as it relates to any of Anderson’s claims that seek to hold TikTok liable for the Blackout Challenge videos’ mere existence on TikTok’s platform. But I would reverse the District Court’s judgment as it relates to any of Anderson’s claims that seek to hold TikTok liable for its knowing distribution and targeted recommendation of the Blackout Challenge videos.

    I think it’s reasonable to hold TikTok accountable for the impact of its highly personalised, virality-biased recommendation system.

    Seeing all of this, I’m optimistic for how UpTrust could fit into the legal landscape.
    Giving users agency over their content curation means that UpTrust doesn’t need to censor based on viewpoint.
    I think transparency regarding recommendation systems and moderation decisions fit in our collective values, and to me they seem like a good thing regardless of whether they’re legislated.

    And when it comes to the potential for harm that’s facilitated by the platform, like a recommendation system spreading a self-asphyxiation meme that kids copy and kill themselves, I think it’s reasonable for such a risk to exist. We don’t need to be immune to liability in order to build the thing, and perhaps the risk will help us think about how to make a safer system. Like, if UpTrust did well because 80% of the activity was a child-abuse ring, then it’s kind of okay if the company got nuked or had to make significant reparations. So let’s do our best to make sure we create something that’s good for people, and be willing to kill it if we find out it’s not.

    blakeSA•...

    I feel some kinship and relief here as you talk about welcoming liability and regulation where it seems valid and useful! Thanks for reading and sharing about all this!

    public policy
    business ethics
    law and regulation
    Comments
    0
  • isaac_uptrust•...

    How does "Anderson v TikTok/ByteDance" relate to UpTrust?

    (continued from the Uptrust slack) Links: https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/judges-rule-big-techs-free-ride-on Hacker News discussion This stuff was hard for me to make sense of. I think writing about it here has helped....
    social media
    technology
    content moderation
    law
    business ethics
    communications decency act
    first amendment
    platform liability
    Comments
    4
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