ANS -- A new chapter Retirement

This is a fragment of a blog post by Alan Cooper. (He's my brother).  I thought it was interesting.  If you want to read the rest of the blog, follow the link.  It will also take you to a series of pieces on this topic that I haven't read yet.  This is very short.  

Find it here:  https://medium.com/@MrAlanCooper/a-new-chapter-7a2e6fce8895  

--Kim

A new chapter

Retirement

In my last couple of years of work I became interested in the ethical challenges of the tech industry. I formulated a framework for ethical behavior that I called Ancestry Thinking. I was fortunate enough to join forces with a brilliant young designer named Renato Verdugo to develop this line of thinking. Together, we gave some talks, spoke some speeches, and taught a couple of semesters at University of California at Berkeley on the topic.

Renato Verdugo and me at UCB's Sather Gate before our first day of class

Our philosophical bedrock was the belief that individual practitioners could influence the ethical behavior of larger corporations. Sadly, the actions of corporations — and the governments they have purchased — has cast a shadow over our work. Metaphorically, I say it's like doing origami in a house afire. It doesn't matter how good you are at folding paper, it's going to catch fire along with everything else. That is, no matter how ethical any individual behaves, the economic forces of trillion dollar companies will suborn them all.

I believe that Ancestry Thinking is still valid, but it won't be relevant until we vanquish the system that allows gross social and economic inequality to persist. Sadly, I find my work in this area has ground to a halt.