As a developer, as a data scientist, as a designer, as a business leader, you are responsible for things like this. Do not make excuses. Do not disclaim liability. Acknowledge the mistake and fix it. We can do better.
I understand and agree that if there is something ethically or morally wrong, we as humans should do something to avoid that, absolutely.
I'm just asking to have it clarified for myself what the actual problem is here, and what possible solutions there could be.
These journalists, on the other hand, have parroted the lawsuit’s PR campaign for clicks, and in doing so, have actively, purposefully, and knowingly spread this social contagion farther than Amazon ever could through their inadvertent recommendations.
So it's possible. I'd venture to guess that store has never actually given teens advice on how to kill themselves. If they were I bet they wouldn't stay in business long.
We don't have to excuse these big tech companies for the consequences of what they do. We just don't. We can demand they don't freeze accounts and keep people's money without letting them talk to a human, we can demand they don't recommend harmful products or send counterfeit goods to people, we can demand they don't evade labor laws or local zoning laws.
We don't have to put up with this bullshit. I don't give a fuck if Amazon's recommendations engine is cost effective for them. Their business model isn't my fucking problem they need to exist in society in a healthy positive way just like everyone else or they can go out of business.
You’re so ready to make everything worse for everyone just because some two-bit journalists’ clickbait has put you into a state of panicked hysteria over nothing. Your lack of control over your own mental state should alarm you more than this story.
We live in a fucking society, with people in it. These tech giants are wrecking major parts of it. The degree to which everyone in this thread is just utterly blind to the moral and interpersonal obligations of corporations and unwilling to insist on something better is really something.
I'm sure the gun nuts will come out and correct me if I'm wrong. But I sure know the easiest way to kill myself if I find myself in the US, and it's not ordering some obscure chemicals.
Having “suicide” as a suggestion for this search shows trust and safety isn’t high enough of a priority.