[HN Gopher] HN Discuss: Why so few Hi-Tech companies address rea...
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HN Discuss: Why so few Hi-Tech companies address real issues?
So many companies, so much venture capital, and still so few
actually try to disrupt the real problems that real people have:
1. Housing. It's a global problem, there has got to be a
solution... 2. Health. There are first world health issues, and
third world health issues. None of them is currently addressed in
an effective way 3. Inequality. The gaps in income and opportunity
are just unacceptable. 4. Unkindness. There is just too much
crime, lying, and being assholes to each others. 5. Bullshit jobs.
We spend way too much time doing nothing of real value.
Author : shlosky
Score : 10 points
Date : 2021-12-15 21:23 UTC (1 hours ago)
| giantg2 wrote:
| Because the solutions to these problems is not pure tech. For the
| most part, these problems require contentious or difficult policy
| and cultural changes.
| armchairhacker wrote:
| 4 and 5 are partly solvable with tech. But a lot of companies
| are working to solve them (better content filtering /
| moderation, job automation)
| solveit wrote:
| 1,2,3 are political problems. 4 is harder than terraforming Mars,
| and 5 is so vague I wouldn't know where to start.
|
| In fact, all of them are too vague to provoke a real
| conversation. Perhaps you could ask a more focused question with
| a concrete problem that you see being neglected?
|
| Even you must admit that
|
| > There are first world health issues, and third world health
| issues.
|
| is not much to work with. If you actually dive into a concrete
| issue, there may be parts that a tech company may be able to work
| on, and (imo) good odds that there actually _is_ a company
| working on it.
| dflock wrote:
| These aren't very good target's for tech companies to tackle -
| they mostly already have well known solutions that aren't being
| applied for political or economic reasons, not technology ones.
|
| 1. Build dramatically more housing. In places where they do this,
| like Tokyo, there is no housing shortage. They reasons this
| doesn't happen in, for example SF, is more or less just
| protectionism for housing as investment assets.
|
| 2. We know the solutions to global health problems - investment
| in highly efficient single-payer public healthcare. The reasons
| this doesn't happen are a mixture of political and economic.
|
| 3. Progressive taxation is the solution, doesn't happen for
| political reasons.
|
| 4. This is partly media driven perception, partly the results of
| not fixing the above issues - but either way, a nebulous and ill
| defined people problem.
|
| 5. This one seems less obvious to me, but is definitely a people
| and economics issue, not a technology one.
| circleit wrote:
| People in the comments making all sorts of excuses.
|
| Tech has massive opportunities to organize and align data to make
| things more efficient in all these areas and it is.
|
| Concerning profits - if the model focuses on sustainability -
| doing something that exists currently that is better for people
| and planet, and at lower cost - then there should be plenty of
| profit.
| marstall wrote:
| awesome question.
| chermi wrote:
| Venture capital = profit driven. Figure out to make money off it.
| Or, get rich enough yourself and do some non-profit or charity or
| something.
| dave4420 wrote:
| With the partial exception of health, none of these issues have
| much to do with tech.
| afandian wrote:
| I'd say that technology has had a deep and profound impact on
| all of them.
| pedalpete wrote:
| The categories you are discussing are probably too broad to say
| "nobody is working on solving this.
|
| Let's go through each of the areas you list
|
| 1. Housing - how about lowering the cost of building?
| https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printed-house-cost/ What will 3D printed
| housing do for building communities? Does it move laborers into
| finishing (less time framing and bricking) and increase their
| average wage?
|
| 2. Health - so many health start-ups, but you have to pick one
| thing. We work in sleep-tech, it affects so much of your life.
| But I used to work in telehealth, how about all the genomics,
| cancer...how on earth did health make your list? VCs are plowing
| money into health. If you're in the US, and you are complaining
| about your healthcare system, that's maybe a different issue. I'm
| not US based.
|
| 3. Inequality - I'm not a fan of this label as the issue, I think
| targeting quality of life is more valuable. If I have a great
| quality of life, should I care how much somebody else has? Can we
| look at improvements in cost and delivery of education as
| creating value here?
|
| 4. Unkindness - Well...look at all the mindfulness stuff that's
| out there? There have always been, and probably always will be
| assholes. I'm not sure what technologies role here is.
|
| 5. B _llsh_ t jobs - Stop worrying about what everyone else is
| doing in their jobs, and focus on yourself. I ran a metaverse
| company from 2017 - you would probably call that a BS job, and
| I'll admit, I didn't meet a lot of people through that experience
| that made me feel we were having a big impact on the world. Now
| that I'm in healthtech with a very clear focus, I find I'm
| meeting amazing people who are also doing world changing things.
|
| Rather than wondering "why is nobody doing anything to solve
| these problems", I suggest you pick a problem you are
| particularly passionate about and figure out what you can do to
| help. Once you're in those communities, you'll probably see just
| how much people are doing, and be inspired by the people that are
| doing it.
|
| All of the above is not to say there aren't a TON of people who
| are wasting their lives building another dating app, or an app
| that measures your clothes for you, etc etc. But we have a huge
| population on the planet, don't worry about what they're doing.
| You do you.
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(page generated 2021-12-15 23:02 UTC)