{"id":10415,"date":"2022-03-01T12:31:08","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T12:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1381584"},"modified":"2022-03-01T12:31:08","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T12:31:08","slug":"the-best-thing-the-tech-industry-can-do-for-ukraine-is-donate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=10415","title":{"rendered":"The best thing the tech industry can do for Ukraine is donate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Are you a skilled tech<\/a> worker? And want to help Ukraine in its war against Russia? Then the best thing you can do is donate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While many in the tech industry have the skills and talent to provide support in situations like Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, they simply don\u2019t have the necessary experience in these specific environments.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t share any examples of this, as singling specific attempts is mean-spirited. But, believe me, they are happening.<\/p>\n

Andrew Therriault \u2014 founder of Civin<\/a>, a company that helps the public sector use data \u2014 stated in an intriguing Twitter thread<\/a> that \u201camateur volunteers, however well-intentioned and skilled in their own fields, are often solving the wrong problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Effectively, by throwing yourself into a field you\u2019re unfamiliar with, you end up creating more work for people who have spent their lives building the skills to operate in these situations.<\/p>\n

It may feel like helping, but it\u2019s often achieving the opposite.<\/p>\n

I put this thought to Linus Neumann from Chaos Computer Club<\/a>, Europe\u2019s largest association of hackers. Specifically, how \u2014 and if \u2014 people with high-level computing skills should get involved with what\u2019s happening in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a war,\u201d he told me, \u201can actual war with bombs and bullets and bodies\u201d<\/p>\n

Neumann said that while hacktivist attacks are \u201cimpressive displays of political protest,\u201d they haven\u2019t had any impact on Putin\u2019s military abilities. And, even if they did, this would be a \u201cdisaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStates respond to [hacktivist] attacks with military logic,\u201d he said. This means Putin could scapegoat any individual, organization, or country he desires before seeking \u201crevenge\u201d on them.<\/p>\n

Neumann continued to tell me that, when it comes to actual cyber warfare, it\u2019s \u201ccoordination\u201d that\u2019s \u201cthe primary challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

This echoes what Therriault said about third parties getting involved in this conflict digitally.<\/p>\n

\n

So if your real area of expertise is doing tech in a for-profit environment, then the best way to use those skills to help others is to do more of what you\u2019re good at, and use the proceeds to solve the resource problems that plague people working on these things every day. (8\/10)<\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Therriault (@therriaultphd) February 27, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s not you, it\u2019s us<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, the modern tech industry is founded on the idea of \u201cdisruption.\u201d If you look at the past 30 years, companies haven\u2019t been using technology to neatly support other sectors, instead they\u2019ve been using it to dismantle them.<\/p>\n

This goes for almost everything, from Amazon\u2019s overhaul of retail, to Apple\u2019s remodeling of our daily lives with the iPhone. It\u2019s inherent in the language of the industry.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing: not everything can \u2014 or should \u2014 be disrupted. Thinking otherwise is pure hubris. Often, the best approach is showing humility and, well, putting your money where your mouth is.<\/p>\n

The best example of the negative impact this \u201cdisruptor\u201d mentality has was displayed by everyone\u2019s favorite tech egomaniac, Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

Stretch your mind back to 2018<\/a> and the Thai boy\u2019s soccer team being stuck in a cave. Rather than just accept the expertise of life-long divers and rescuing experts (who eventually saved the boys), Musk took it upon himself to build a submarine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Surprise surprise, the vehicle was unusable<\/a>. It didn\u2019t even fit in the damn cave.<\/p>\n

The moral, if there was one, is this: listen to experts and accept what they\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t saying don\u2019t help, far from it. If an organization actively asks for your technical assistance and you can deliver that (for example, the IT Army of Ukraine<\/a>), then go right ahead.<\/p>\n

The danger is when you provide \u201chelp\u201d experts haven\u2019t asked for \u2014 which is precisely what Musk did. All the money and resources spent on his submarine would\u2019ve been better utilized in the hands of experts.<\/p>\n

\n

We are creating an IT army. We need digital talents. All operational tasks will be given here: https:\/\/t.co\/Ie4ESfxoSn<\/a>. There will be tasks for everyone. We continue to fight on the cyber front. The first task is on the channel for cyber specialists.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But you can<\/em> help<\/h2>\n

This isn\u2019t an indictment or a takedown of people wanting to make a difference. I totally get why highly-skilled technologists want to get involved \u2014 and I genuinely believe the reasons behind this are both admirable and understandable.<\/p>\n

Inactivity feels tortuous when we want to do something, especially if we have applicable skills. But this in itself is a selfish act, as we\u2019re prioritizing our needs, over those of the people actually embroiled in war.<\/p>\n

Help. Lord, help as much as you can, but do so in a way that\u2019s actually beneficial for the overall effort.<\/p>\n

So, unless you are called on to specifically lend your talents to Ukraine, here\u2019s what you can do instead:<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you a skilled tech worker? And want to help Ukraine in its war against Russia? Then the best thing you can do is donate. While many in the tech industry have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10415"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}