Introduction
I would accept a job at Facebook. After reading through the article on whether one should work for an ethically complicated organization and peering through the Facebook papers, I think I would still accept a job at Facebook. The argument that Facebook is morally unethical is tied to the “ethically dubious missions and connections” section mentioned in the article, where the author mentions that some businesses are aware that their mission may cause harm but still pursue them for monetary gain.
Negative & Positive Impact
My argument of still working for Facebook stems from the fact that Facebook is one of the largest companies in the world by market cap, so while part of their business may lead to self esteem issues among children or allow for hate speech within certain countries, I think there are many more aspects of the organization that are either neutral or positive in their impact. For instance, the Superintelligence Lab at Facebook is increasing American productivity by ushering in the age of AI and the WhatsApp teams are connecting families within developing nations without charging for messaging. It could be argued that the positive impact generated from these campaigns in Facebook far outweighs the negative.
Ethical Concerns Across Tech Giants
Moreover, it could be argued that any other company of the size of Meta has some similar negative ethical implication associated with it. For instance, Google has been accused of showing false information and propaganda on Google Search, Amazon underpays and overworks its distribution center workers, NVIDIA relies on far too much water to cool their infrastructure, and Apple has been accused of child labor within its supply chain. While these companies are not necessarily virtuous, they are at the level at which it is likely that an issue like this will spring up somewhere in the organization given the size.
Opportunity for Change from Within
Ultimately, accepting a role at Facebook doesn’t mean that I’d turn a blind eye to these issues in the company; instead, it creates an opportunity to influence change from within the organization. By joining a team that emphasizes the role of ethical development and social good, I think it is still possible to help move the company toward practicing more responsibility while still benefiting from the resources of a global leader in technology.
