Ethical Jobs – Would you accept a job at Facebook?
(Note: This post has been updated later to change the tag to CS 177 instead of CS 247B.)
As an undergrad exploring a career in software, my instinctive answer to the question of whether to work at Facebook would likely have been “no.” After the discovery of Facebook’s ethical challenges as part of the 2016 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal and the addictive elements built into Facebook’s design, I shunned the idea of contributing to any company at all connected to scandals that didn’t align with my personal ethical values. My mindset was one that embraced an absolute ethical stance; I aimed to take on work fully removed from anything I considered ethically questionable. This mindset has shifted over the past few years, however, as I’ve realized what Brusseau highlights in 5.2 – that truly escaping any connections to ethically troubling work is nearly impossible.
Today, whether I would take on a role at Facebook is closely connected with Brusseau’s idea of distance from actions I believe to be ethically wrong. I would accept an offer from Facebook with the intention of distancing myself from aspects of the company that I consider ethically questionable. Rather, I would join Facebook with the intention of actively seeking solutions to the company’s ethical quandaries. While mired in controversy, Facebook also provides a positive service of connection and entertainment to millions of people, and being a part of a team that works on impactful problems such as automated content moderation, designing Facebook to be less harmful for mental health, or spreading Internet access to remote regions would be, in my view, meaningful progress toward ensuring that the positives of the company outweigh the ethical negatives.
Perhaps assuming that I can successfully advocate for this positive change from within a company as large as Facebook is, as Brusseau suggests, a bit idealistic. But I do firmly believe that taking at least a small step toward making such change is possible, and the somewhat more balanced ethical stance of being willing to work at Facebook enables me to justify a meaningful career in an ethically complicated organization.
