
Ask HN: How does your job benefit society? - Joof
There&#x27;s a lot of news about privacy violations, wealth equality, filter bubbles and the abundance of advertisements on the internet. I&#x27;d love to see some counterpoints about software that truly improves people&#x27;s lives or the welfare of society. How does hacker news contribute to the general welfare?
======
merterdir
I'm working on Remember, it's a personal search engine. It's like Google
Photos for every file type. And while it's great for productivity, it will
hopefully serve a bigger purpose, maximising human potential.

We're building a product where a researcher can type "all of my research on
cancer" and will see their life's work unveil in front of their eyes. All the
papers, notes, voice memos, everything. And maybe, just maybe it'll spark an
idea they would've otherwise missed.

I think the biggest way I can benefit society as a 21 year old is to make a
product that enables people to do so. I know I can't solve wealth inequality
and cancer all by myself, but I might be able to empower the people who will.
I believe this is the greatest power of software.

------
GFK_of_xmaspast
If I didn't have a job I wouldn't be able to pay taxes, and a lot of poor
people need whatever help they can get from the government, not to mention
NASA and the national parks.

~~~
Joof
Thanks, I like this response. Is this worth more than the contributions made
towards war, the erosion of privacy and general corruption? Could you (in
theory) instead give your money directly to these causes.

Some jobs may also enable others to do their jobs more effectively, who may in
turn enable someone to benefit the general welfare.

Having a direct, measurable effect is admittedly rather nice, but that isn't
the majority of jobs.

~~~
GFK_of_xmaspast
If it were up to me I would certainly re-allocate where my money went.

On a professional level, I don't feel that I'm necessarily making the world
better (at least for now, and with the caveat that I do believe that I am
contributing to an increased mean utility), but at least I'm not making it
worse (one of the consequences with my last employer is that if we succeeded
it would put some people out of work; I left for many reasons but one was that
I decided I was no longer comfortable with that).

------
a3n
I work for a medical device company. We do a lot of things, but mostly blood
manipulation. Our products do everything from making a particular day easier
for someone, to making more specific blood products available, to saving
people's lives.

This job is the best contribution to society that I have ever been a part of,
and I'm grateful to have done so.

------
Nadya
I work on the Front-end/UX of healthcare/hospital sites across the U.S. My job
is to make it easier for patients to find the doctor/specialist/physician they
need. It's indirect - but connecting patients to the care they need can
potentially save a life or ease someone's pain. I think about that for every
website I touch.

------
throweway
My company bets on betting markets getting an edgd using statistical data. We
help provide liquidity to the betting market and keep betting exchanges and
totalisers in business.

------
lsiebert
My job informs consumers about products that may be of interest, gives them
real money/gift cards/other rewards for doing so, and includes fun games for
them to enjoy as part of this transaction. If they don't want to see my
companies ads, they simply don't install the app, so any user who continues to
use any such app is explicitly opting into the advertising.

edit: I should probably be explicit that I don't really feel this has deep
redeeming social value, but I thought it might be worth a chuckle.

------
SyneRyder
My own software business makes Photoshop plug-ins. I doubt that has much
intrinsic value, but I'm proud of what my customers have used them for. One
customer runs an Etsy store selling t-shirts of Pugs wearing plaid, designed
with my software. It's extremely niche, but makes her super happy & she earns
more than I'd ever expect from it. Another customer runs a drug rehab program,
and for those who complete the program, they get a free portrait photo shoot
to see a before/after comparison of themselves, a visual reminder of what
their life looks like away from drug addiction. I've also given free copies of
my software to youth art programs, though that's practically free for me to do
anyway.

I put some of my revenue/income towards charitable projects, but I keep much
of that private / anonymous. My general philosophy on that comes from two of
my favorite books, "Banker To The Poor" by Muhammad Yunus (of Grameen Bank)
and "The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away
a Fortune" by Conor O'Clery.

------
mlwarren
I work at a Smart Grid company and we make devices and software that help
conserve energy and natural resources. I'm glad to have found the job because
my previous job didn't have what I perceived to be a benefit to society and
that really bothered me.

