Ethical consumption and dialogue

tag(s): #politics #random-thoughts Over an email exchange with a friend, he brought up a conversation he had with a colleague (what follows is an edited quote): A colleague scolded me after I confronted him for paying Anthropic. He proceeded to lecture me on Apple's child labour abuse and the proprietary OS. His conclusion was that if you care about these things you shouldn't be in IT. Getting into those conversations is an interesting exercise in frustration. The colleague's reply strikes me of the "yet you participate in society" comic panel. Does he have a point? Maybe. But he is still giving money to Anthropic, and it doesn't address the point my friend brought up to him. In theory, Anthropic are "the good guys". Or, they paint themselves that way. I honestly didn't look into their claims, as I believe all AI consumption to be unethical and all the companies in the space to be full of shit. Yet I do have a subscription, and feel "I have no choice" but to participate in the AI…