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Comment by thatguy0900 | Hacker News Reader

There's bad doctors, just like there are bad people in every profession. How many software engineers does it take to make a dystopian spy state or spy company? You probably need many more than you would need doctors for unethical experiments. What's wrong with software engineers that they would knowingly do such a thing? I suspect the motivations for wanting to push the technological limits in advertising or spying are the same as the ones for pushing the limits of medical science.

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No. It's not "just like". People with Cluster B personality disorders, especially the ones at the end of the spectrum with ASPD/psychopathy crave power over others. They enjoy looking into the eyes of someone while life fades away, or seeing the tears come out due to powerlessness and suffering. They like, crave direct contact. It is VERY different to cause suffering in a dispassionate way through software and hear about it on the news, or do it yourself in person 1on1.

So, no. Besides, it has been shown that there are professions with disproportionately much more psychopathic people than others. Which makes perfect sense, considering what I just said, even though there's more to be said about this subject.

Do you have any research about other Cluster B personalities that "enjoy looking into the eyes of someone while life fades away, or seeing the tears come out due to powerlessness and suffering" ? Or you just want to write about APD, but want to add some science-based words?

Also, the "APD-prone" positions are often higher management. Which are causing every possible type of pain, from 1 to 1, to massive downsizing on the other part of the world, but more of the second type - one would assume they would choose something closer to victims, if their only motive is causing pain. There is also their tendency for risk-taking and ease with making "hard decisions (due to lack of empathy and mentioned tendency for risk-taking), which also explains such high positions in companies.

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