Google will always do evil

I’ve always loved David Mitchell’s take on Google’s motto:<p>“There’s something fishy about Google’s motto, “Don’t Be Evil.” I’m not saying it’s controversial but it makes you think, “Why bring that up? Why have you suddenly put the subject of being evil on the agenda?” It’s suspicious in the same way as Ukip constantly pointing out how racist they’re not”

While I&#x27;m no fan of Google, the premise of this article annoys me. Good and Evil are such a simple concept and have no place in reality. Good and Evil are always subjective to the viewport. I don&#x27;t disagree with the facts of the article, just that its cast in the simplistic light of &quot;Evil&quot; for dramatic effect.<p>Maybe Google removed the Don&#x27;t Be Evil because of articles like this pushing a Good vs. Evil narrative.

Geniune question is anyone at liberty to comment on Google culture? Google has always been a sort of grass is always greener aspirational employer to me but lately I have to admit externally they don’t look as good.

No company should have the choice between being evil or not.

The motto &quot;don&#x27;t be evil&quot; forces every brain hearing it to process &quot;be evil&quot;. This is made particularly ponient by research showing that people don&#x27;t process negation well. This is why the transition, ignored by the article, to a positive statement of the desired outcome was adopted. Regardless of whether Google attains the behavior it lasts out for itself, this is probably a good change.

I think that over time, big corporations like Google and Facebook tend to attract increasingly evil (greedy, financially motivated) people - It creates an environment where non-evil people feel uncomfortable and it causes them leave the company at a higher rate which makes the problem worse. Even the people at the top slowly become more evil (via osmosis) without realising it.

Was this really just last month? I feel like I participated in outrage over the removal of &quot;don&#x27;t be evil&quot; last year or the year before.<p>And it&#x27;s not like it ever meant anything. I agree terrible companies are terrible... but there hasn&#x27;t been a turning point recently or ever.