rmstein@ieee.org
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 10:44:00 +0800
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/welcome-to-your-new-ethics-test-silicon-valley/2019/02/05/eb9f6e10-2969-11e9-b2fc-721718903bfc_story.html
"Addiction has become another ethical landmine where dopamine hits -- and how one administers them -- are the key to a company's growth. E-cigarette maker Juul Labs, founded in 2017 and now the fastest growing start-up in history, with a valuation of $38 billion, is largely responsible for a grave new statistic: about 20 percent of teens have admitted to vaping in school. In many ways, that shouldn't surprise us. Juul is the logical extension of the Silicon Valley growth-hacking playbook: Design a flawless product, add a dopamine response, stir in some influencers and watch your product, game or app go viral."
Technologically-fueled addictions embody covert institutionalized violence
(https://www.radford.edu/~gmartin/IPPNO%2520Doc.html)
Regulators and legislators accept them as a relatively harmless means to satisfy dopamine delivery desire.
Addictive products generate sales taxes, income taxes, and the business lobby contributes campaign funds to sustain "wrist-slap regulatory oversight" in exchange for a franchise to exploit human frailty. Standard operating procedure for capitalism.
From the "Blues Brothers"
(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080455/%3Fref_%3Dnv_sr_1
"Maury Sline: Hold it, hold it. Tomorrow night? What are you talking about?
A gig like that, you gotta prepare the proper exploitation."
"Elwood: I know all about that stuff. I have been exploited all my life."