Silicon Valley Created an Ethical Guide

An ethical guide was recently created by think tank Institute of the Future and the Tech and Society Solutions Lab. The guide—called Ethical OS—aims to serve as a bridge between researchers who study tech’s societal impact, and the companies that impact society.

The first section outlines 14 near-future scenarios, based on contemporary anxieties in the tech world that could threaten companies in the future. What happens, for example, if a company like Facebook purchases a major bank and becomes a social credit provider? What happens if facial-recognition technology becomes a mainstream tool, spawning a new category of apps that integrates the tech into activities like dating and shopping? Teams are encouraged to talk through each scenario, connect them back to the platforms or products they’re developing, and discuss strategies to prepare for these possible futures.

In my opinion, it should be a requirement for business majors to take ethical classes, if they already don’t. Starting a company in a garage with no knowledge of societal quandaries doesn’t cut it anymore.

Creator of Apollo App Asking For Animal Shelter Donations

Christian Selig, creator of popular Reddit client Apollo, took to Reddit yesterday. He’s asking for animal shelter donations to support his local shelter.

Our local animal shelter (SPCA, similar to ASPCA in the states but Canadian) is overflowing with kittens thanks to kitten season (warm weather means kittens breed a lot) and running low on food so I wanted to make a donation but figured the Apple/Reddit community is a great generous bunch so I wanted to use that to maybe raise some more money for the shelter, so 100% of Apollo’s proceeds today are going to the shelter to get them food and supplies!

Apollo is free to download, and there’s an in-app purchase for the Pro version. If you’re already a Pro member, you can make use of the Tip Jar in the app settings.

Facebook Asks Banks for Your Account Balance, Credit Card Activity

Facebook wants to offer new services to its users, so it’s asking banks in the United States to share personal account information. That includes account balances and credit card activity, because who better to have access to our personal financial data than Facebook? From the Wall Street Journal:

As part of the proposed deals, Facebook asked banks for information about where its users are shopping with their debit and credit cards outside of purchases they make using Facebook Messenger.

Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have shown time and again that our personal data is far more valuable than our privacy. At least one bank has already told Facebook “no,” and hopefully the others will, too.