Stanford in of itself is an ethically complicated organization—from the Stanford prison experiment to the Doerr School’s controversial donors to the institution’s complicity in furthering eugenics. Before discussing the implications of working at Facebook, I recognize that my education is being furthered at an institution also considered to be complicated. If not for ethically complicated organizations, I would arguably not be attending this school and sitting in this CS177 course. As a result, I believe that I would take a job at Facebook.
Certainly, Facebook has a controversial legacy of data collection (i.e. Cambridge Analytica), promotion of harmful content, among other notable ethical concerns. However, I believe that on a rather practical level, I would simply be a cog in an unstoppable machine. Whether I choose to work as an entry level software engineer (or similar job title) for Facebook or not, I personally would have very limited impact on the actions of the company at large; Facebook will continue its operations with or without me. On an idealistic level, I could perhaps see “accepting a job at a company [as a] route to changing that company’s policy” (5.2) But even in a deeply pragmatic lens, I will at worst have very little impact either way.
Outside of the company I work for, I also value being able to support myself and my family, having enough money to support causes I believe in, and having autonomy in my financial decisions. In “an economy that’s totally interlinked” (5.2), my own spending power also matters. If getting a job at Facebook means improving multiple areas of my personal life, I would find it to be a justified course of action.
After all, it is hard to exist in the modern world while supporting absolutely zero unethical or morally complex organizations or corporations. Too much of our modern life is dependent on exploitation, whether our laptops that contain cobalt mined by exploited children in the Congo, or chocolate coming from underpaid cacao farmers. Though I can choose to purchase better options or work at less unethical companies, it is hard to exist without participating in the complex societal systems that currently exist.
