> genuinely well-intentioned work that the public is unfairly (and often viciously) critical of the motives of
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and shits all over your lawn like a duck, hearing "well he meant well" doesn't make it any less of a duck.
Saying "the public are unfairly critical of the motives [of Google]" is like saying cows are unfairly critical of the motives of abattoir workers [1].
Sometimes it feels like Google could cure cancer and HN would still react negatively. Companies are not monolithic and it's silly to paint it that way. It's not simple about intent, but premature judgment.
Conversely it feels like Google could say "hey we've found a cure for cancer, we just transplant the brain into a healthy 'donor' body" and Google apologists would insist that there's no possible way that could ever be misused.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and shits all over your lawn like a duck, hearing "well he meant well" doesn't make it any less of a duck.
Saying "the public are unfairly critical of the motives [of Google]" is like saying cows are unfairly critical of the motives of abattoir workers [1].
1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37035733