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Remove as much hedging as I think is possible with minimal tweaks #123

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Remove as much hedging as I think is possible with minimal tweaks #123

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24 changes: 12 additions & 12 deletions index.html
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Expand Up @@ -71,7 +71,7 @@
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are often thought of as the web's core set of technologies
but there are many other technologies, standards,
languages and APIs that come together to form the "web platform."
We strive to maintain a strong ethical framework as a differentiator for the web platform,
We maintain a strong ethical framework as a differentiator for the web platform,
for example an emphasis on
[internationalization](https://www.w3.org/International/),
[accessibility](https://www.w3.org/WAI/),
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -103,8 +103,8 @@
(for example, with strong privacy protections).

The web should also support human rights, dignity, and personal agency.
We need to put internationally recognized human rights at the core of the web platform [[?UDHR]].
We can reinforce this approach by promoting ethical thinking across the web industry.
We put internationally recognized human rights at the core of the web platform [[?UDHR]].
We reinforce this approach by promoting ethical action across the web industry.

The principles in this document are deliberately unordered,
and many are interconnected with each other.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -160,16 +160,16 @@ <h3 id="noharm" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
</h3>
<p>
When we are adding a feature or technology to the web,
we will work to prevent or mitigate any harm it might cause society or groups,
we will prevent or mitigate any harm it might cause society or groups,
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This statement does not seem possible.

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This is true, but then so much of this document is aspirational to the point of being borderline unrealistic, maybe this is OK. But the point @cwilso makes is a good one. This is an area in which there are no clean absolutes. Change will hurt people. Not changing will too.

How about we look at a different framing? See #126 for my attempt to turn the hedging here into the core message.

especially to vulnerable people.
We consider a range of threat models that account for abuse scenarios
We protect against a range of threat models that account for abuse scenarios
at different scales, from societal to interpersonal.
We will prioritize potential benefits for web users over potential benefits to web developers,
content providers, user agents, advertisers, or others in the ecosystem,
in line with the
<a data-cite="design-principles#priority-of-constituencies">priority of constituencies</a>.
We commit to learning about and understanding diverse perspectives,
and will strive to reflect a respect for that diversity in the designs we produce,
We will learn about and understand diverse perspectives,
and will reflect a respect for that diversity in the designs we produce,
so that our designs properly respect the interests and views of
all of the people who might be affected by them.
</p>
Expand All @@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ <h3 id="community" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
they can also be used for spreading misinformation,
revealing private personal information (doxing),
harassment, and persecution.
We will consider these risks in the work we do,
We will mitigate these risks in the work we do,
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Again, I'm not sure how you can make this statement true. I don't think it's possible absolutely prevent doxing, for example.

and will build web technologies and platforms
that respect individuals' rights
and provide features to empower them against dangers like these.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -275,12 +275,12 @@ <h3 id="control" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
<p>
We recognize that web technologies can be used
to manipulate and deceive people, complicate isolation, and encourage addictive behaviors.
We seek to mitigate against these potential abuses
We mitigate these potential abuses
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Again. (Keep in mind, I'm not saying we shouldn't try - quite the opposite -but if you make this as a "we will eradicate the ability for web technologies to be used to manipulate and deceive people", that seems like an impossible task.

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This document claims that it wants to reinforce a human-rights-centric approach to the web. The UDHR doesn't say "we'll try to prevent slavery and servitude" or "we will aim to give people the right to life, liberty and security" or "we will consider ways to avoid subjecting people to torture." None of the UDHR's aims are possible today, yet every time they are not met we have failed.

Every hedge encourages status quo bias and invites complacency.

For this category of document, I think we can only go two broad ways. Either they are aspirational, define ethics, endgame, etc. in which case there is no value in watering them down with hedging and vague aspirations to aim. We don't know what might become possible. Just yesterday I was reading about how a $24bn investment could produce mRNA vaccines for all 26 viral families known to cause human illness. Huge if true — but it shouldn't change medical ethics. Or, conversely, these are governance documents, producing specific rules, supporting specific interpretations and actions, and those must be implementable and therefore realistic. Similarly, a universal viral vaccine would change a lot to medical protocols and the overall governance of medicine as deployed.

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Yes, but that's precisely my point - you can be aspirational and define ethics and endgame, or you can be pragmatic, implementable and realistic. The UHDR is the former, and it is introduced as such, and its wording allows it.

The General Assembly ... [p]roclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
[articles follow]

I'm +1 for being aspirational. But then the precise wording is important; you can't say "slavery does not exist". You can say "we believe everyone should believe these things and work to these ends... [Article 4] No one shall be held in slavery". (Which is essentially what the UHDR does.)

In this case, it is especially important, because your claims are not, in many cases, pragmatically POSSIBLE. You cannot mitigate any harm a feature might offer, or any possibility of the web being used to spread misinformation.

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Agreeing with Chris here - the ability of building block technology (such as that specified by standards) to effect eg human rights is often limited, and we should not create expectations that we can mitigate or avoid all harms.

and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pattern">patterns</a>
when creating new technologies and platforms,
and avoid introducing technologies that increase the chance of
people being harmed in this way.
We aim to reduce centralization in web architecture,
We reduce centralization in web architecture,
minimizing single points of failure and single points of control.
We will also build web technologies for individual developers
as well as for developers at large companies and organizations.
Expand All @@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ <h3 id="sustainable" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
as well as negative impacts,
and these can change over time and vary geographically as
both web and environmental technologies develop.
We will endeavor not to do further harm to the environment
We will not further harm the environment
when we introduce new technologies to the web and keep in mind
that people most affected by the environmental consequences of new technologies
may not be those who benefit from the features introduced.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ <h3 id="render" data-export="" data-dfn-type="dfn">
assistive browser extensions,
and blockers of unwanted content or scripts or auto-played videos.
We will build features and write specifications
that respect peoples' agency,
that increase peoples' agency,
and will create user agents to represent those preferences on the web user's behalf.
</p>
</section>
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