SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Unsealed court filings in the Waymo vs. Uber case include texts between former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Anthony Levandowski, the engineer accused of stealing secrets from Waymo/Google:
On March 19, 2016, before Uber acquired Otto, Levandowski and Kalanick exchanged messages catching up on their recent "jam" session. The pair were apparently trying to prod an engineer, whose name is redacted in the filings.
"Internet, electricity, self driving cars and key things will always find a way," Levandowski texted Kalanick, linking to a YouTube clip from the 1987 movie "Wall Street." In the clip, the main character gives a famous speech of why "greed is good." "Here's the speech you need to give ;-)."
Kalanick briefly updated Levandowski on Uber's food delivery business, then wrote, "The way you keep China in check is showing up when they ask every once in a while."
But Uber was losing $1 billion a year in China, and by August, Uber sold its Chinese business to rival Didi Chuxing.
Kalanick was also eager to partner with Google as it sought to enter into the ride-hailing market, and dismissive of Tesla's autonomous mode safety claims.
The best exchanges:
9/19/2016 Levandowski: We're going to take over the world
9/19/2016 Levandowski: One robot at a time
10/7/2016 Kalanick: Down to hang this eve and mastermind some shit
(Score: 2) by n1 on Wednesday August 16 2017, @03:37AM (2 children)
He was not wrong. I did say these people are very talented... However, it's not mandatory to exploit people at every opportunity, although it can be very rewarding financially.
I can't sleep at night if i'm complicit in the exploitation of someone. I have worked for immoral people who saw no issue in this. It was one of the most stressful and depressing times in my life, learning how I was being exploited at the same time as being complicit in the exploitation of others. Thankfully I was able to walk away, but other people in the same position as me did not have the option. The rent is still due and none of your bills go away just because you took a moral decision to leave a certainly immoral and potentially criminal business.
(Score: 1) by a262 on Wednesday August 16 2017, @03:51AM (1 child)
Ay, I feel your grief good sir. However, one must accept the brutal, capitalist society in which we live. People feed off of other people for success. As my sonofabitch father taught me when I was very young, you must discover what the game is, and then win at that game. The name of our modern game is "misanthropy".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 16 2017, @10:31PM
Eeeeeehhhh, I'm gonna disagree. There is merit to that viewpoint, but I would rather go to my deathbed happy in the fact I never screwed people over intentionally and systematically. If you play to win, and you play by their rules, then you lose. Unless you desire becoming a sociopath, which would mean you win?