The idea of working at a company like Meta is…complicated. If you asked me a year ago, I would have said “no” without hesitation. Not particularly for any ethical reasons—we all remember the scandals from the presidential election—but more on a personal level. I just didn’t see a place for myself at that company, despite all the perks.
A lot of things have developed between then and now, especially things that pique my interests (and my passions 😍). I love everything at the intersection of art and technology. This wasn’t an area I saw Meta pursuing too much prior to their rebrand, and the launch of their now-overused term “Metaverse”. Now this was something that required understanding people, being creative, having the technical knowledge of computer graphics, and so much more. I’m not saying it’s a dream job, but related to section 5.1 of Business Ethics, it does check a few boxes for things I find valuable in a job: meaning, leisure time, money, comfort. Many of those come with the Meta label, but its more about the team. While the ethical repercussions of something like the Metaverse have not yet been completely discovered, I would be willing to lead the efforts to test that out.
So yes, I would accept a job at Facebook, only if I was working on something I was passionate about. No, I would not accept a job at Facebook if I was one of thousands of software engineers that get moved around between teams, working on an internal tool for an internal tool that only 50 people are going to use. And this is where meaning is the most important pillar: some people are happy with a career in coding or designing, but it doesn’t matter what they design. The action of doing it is a challenge that they accept. And the world needs people like that! But I would not be satisfied unless I was working on a product I wholly understand and can advocate for.
This brings me to the second section about choosing to work at a company that aligns with your own values, and how far you are from the problem. If I worked at Meta in Reality Labs or on their Oculus team, having a grand old time designing avatars for the Metaverse, I’d be happy and think that would be pretty cool. I don’t have to worry about the repercussions of free speech and unrestricted content being poured out on the internet. But I still work for a company that does, and by pushing out something new and exciting, I’m drawing more attention (and money) to that company that will allow them to continue being “unethical”. And almost certainly, my efforts working on the immersive side would one day prove to have dire consequences. But I’d still take the (very specific) job, because at least I have some control while I’m there. And as the book cites, “The important thing here is you cannot just turn a blind eye.”
