• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    182 months ago

    I mean math is the backbone of science and technology. And technology can lead to fucked up things.

    Nuclear bombs wouldn’t be possible without fairly recent math.

    Not to mention the unethical hell that is the whole financial sector / trader type where mathematicians often end up working.

    And finally these days, by making new discoveries in some fields your directly contributing to the growth of AI and LLMs.

    An infamous example of someone who quit math over ethical concerns (ironic given the rest of the story) is Ted Kacyznski (the unabomber), who saw math as leading to more and more advanced technology which oppresses people and destroys nature.

    • @AEsheron
      link
      English
      172 months ago

      I think his issues more stemmed from academia and the rat race within it, not so much the ethical issues of mathematics and what they can lead to. Just shitty crabs trying to escape the bucket.

    • @[email protected]OPM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      72 months ago

      I too find economists unethical by trade. Statisticians with a gambling problem, the lot of them.