by digitalmaster on 9/8/20, 1:51 PM with 98 comments
----
I don't see or hear of any and want to know if this is just my bias or if there really is a shortage of resources in tech being allocated to solving the worlds most important problems. I'm sure I'm not the only engineer that's looking out for companies like this.
Ran into this previous Ask HN (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24168902) that asked a similar question. However, here I wanna focus on the better funded efforts (not side projects, philanthropy etc).
One example I've heard so far is Tesla. Any others?
by doitLP on 9/8/20, 5:01 PM
The biggest impacts can often be made in areas that are most neglected and have high negative or positive outcomes. At the very least it will help you form a mental model of how to spend your time and the types of problems to focus on.
by tosmith on 9/8/20, 4:47 PM
by bjacobt on 9/8/20, 4:49 PM
Loon uses standard 3GPP (LTE) protocols, so devices are available at low cost and even lower in used markets.
I don't work for Loon or Google, just interested in HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo Satellites) to provide low cost connectivity.
[2] https://medium.com/loon-for-all/loon-is-live-in-kenya-259d81...
Edit: fixed references
by TYPE_FASTER on 9/8/20, 3:54 PM
Not all these companies will make it. There's a risk associated with working on these problems that is not always countered by the rapid revenue growth associated with a well-funded tech company. Having worked at a company that was briefly situated at Greentown, I will say there is an energy associated with working there. It made my optimistic that people are actually working hard on these problems, and we have a chance at solving some of them within my lifetime.
by lrobinovitch on 9/8/20, 4:00 PM
In particular, Otherlab companies: https://www.otherlab.com/
by audenaert on 9/8/20, 4:26 PM
Most (not all) of the people (engineers, founders, leaders, etc) I talk to want to work on these problems. Google and Facebook are both driven by missions to do this. They get a lot of things right. They also get a lot of things wrong. So does Microsoft. But take a look at the mission and impact of both the Gates Foundation and the Zuckerberg-Chan foundation and I think you'll see that the founders care deeply about the impact that they are having. Execution on that impact is another matter.
The best companies focus on a specific well defined problem. When looking at companies, ask what problem they are trying to solve. Is this a mission that you can get excited about?
Next, is the company approaching this problem from a direction that resonates with you? Is there approach likely to work? What are the risks and potential side effects?
Facebook has done a lot of amazing and wonderful things. It's also created some problems. You have to balance that tension. All well-intentioned efforts come with risks regardless of whether those efforts originate from government, non-profit or business activities.
I'd encourage you not to slip to far into a cynical view of the world. Yes, there are lots of problems. Fantastic. Focus on what you can change and go find solutions.
by dangus on 9/8/20, 4:15 PM
> One example I've heard so far is Tesla. Any others?
Lol, Tesla is not an example. They are a carmaker. Nothing Tesla does will change the world for the better. In fact investing in automobiles in any form is counter-productive when we should be reverting post-war city design mistakes. The best thing for the world would be to live in walkable communities with inter-city trains taking care of long-distance travel.
Tesla is a great example of the flaw in your question: looking toward a highly-funded company out to change the world is an impossibility. Highly funded companies are expected to produce revenue growth. That’s it. There’s no such thing as a for-profit company out to solve world problems unless solving those problems involves increasing profit.
So, like I said, what you’re looking for is probably a non-profit, a government agency, or research institution.
And don’t expect to get highly competitive salary to do work that helps people.
by zaphod12 on 9/8/20, 4:42 PM
Interested in improving the state of the art in detecting cancer - paigeai is building automated pathology tools.
A somewhat USA specific one, but goodrx is helping folks afford medications.
Quite a few of those "issues" in your link get you way past traditional Tech company turf, but all will need software engineers! There are a lot of cool biotech companies out there who would need software engineers!
by matt_s on 9/8/20, 3:59 PM
Is tech the right tool to attempt solving societal problems?
If Tesla's goal was to have an impact on climate change they should allow other car companies to purchase their batteries and motors to build from. Or actually build an economical car, sub $25k, no self-driving or fancy features, no performance mode, etc. Just a working, fully electric car that any working-class person could buy, globally. That would have much more impact than building luxury electric vehicles.
by anandpdoshi on 9/8/20, 5:36 PM
by chris_st on 9/8/20, 5:24 PM
by giantg2 on 9/8/20, 3:04 PM
by mstatner on 9/10/20, 12:08 AM
If you’re interested in playing a major part in one of the most ambitious missions of the past decade and want to work with individuals who use their talents for good, then you should check out Forward.
See our open roles here: https://goforward.com/eng, or reach out to me directly at marissa@goforward.com with your resume.
Check out this article written by our CEO, Adrian, about how we plan to rewire the healthcare system here: https://blog.goforward.com/dont-bail-out-healthcare-rewire-i...
Watch a video tour of one of our doctor's offices here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnJEsoGmh-8&feature=youtu.be
by fiftyacorn on 9/8/20, 2:08 PM
by psmithsfhn on 9/8/20, 10:19 PM
My general guess is that anything actually worthwhile will have little to no private funding behind it.
Global heating. Racism. Soil extinction. Fascism. Disenfranchisement. Inequality. Female disempowerment. etc.
I guess there is government cheese for global heating. Not sure how much useful work would be done outside of government-run and/or -funded laboratories.
And anything that could potentially start out as being at least notionally-well-intentioned will come around to being not that.
My general thinking at this point is I have to find or help to create a small, well-organized group of people who start a not-funded social movement that will oppose almost everything most philanthropists and investors and do-gooders actually care about.
by fsflover on 9/8/20, 4:02 PM
https://puri.sm/about/manufacturing-and-sourcing/
Not sure if you consider them "well funded" though.
by bsldld on 9/8/20, 3:17 PM
by Michael_Sieb on 9/10/20, 1:33 PM
by WMCRUN on 9/9/20, 3:46 AM
Desalination + desert greening + solar + farming. Awesome
by maxmorlocke on 9/8/20, 9:00 PM
by sgtnoodle on 9/10/20, 6:59 PM
I'm an embedded software engineer, and I work on a lot on the firmware running in the vehicles, as well as in all the various ground equipment we've developed to make our system easier to operate. I also touch a lot of "high level" python to build out developer tools and when interfacing to the company's broader software stacks. It's important for our system to be as automated as possible so that we can hire and train local flight operators to serve their communities with minimal engineering support. I think that's something really cool about Zipline. Our flight operators are the most awesome, dedicated employees, and they're in the trenches launching hundreds of flights per day through extreme rain, heat and cold. I want to say that something like 1/3 of flights are for medical emergencies, too.
I've been very happy working here, also. It's a really good group of people. Everyone's dedicated and self motivated to move quickly, without compromising family or work life balance. We try to keep communication within the company as flat and direct as possible, too. There's no corporate politics or egos to maneuver around. Our CEO's car is one of the crappier cars in the parking lot. For surprise medical reasons I had to take quite a bit of time off at a really quite terrible time in the schedule earlier this year, and my coworkers happily picked up the slack and sent me an embarrassing amount of very luxurious chocolate.
Since I joined, my team has grown from just me to about a dozen people, and all the growth has done is made us busier with all the cool projects we're taking on. We're generally always hiring across the company, and especially on the embedded engineering team. Since I've been around a while, I tend to focus on broad architectural work while helping out on whatever project is the most on fire, and try to give newer team members a chance to focus on projects that they can own long term.
https://flyzipline.com/careers/
This is what I've been working on improving this past week. If you sign an NDA, I can tell what relevance it has to 1980s rap music... https://youtu.be/FeSCEalMOL8?t=85
by fsflover on 9/8/20, 5:36 PM
by person_of_color on 9/8/20, 3:47 PM
by westurner on 9/8/20, 8:03 PM
As a labor market participant, you can choose to work for places that have an organizational mission that strategically aligns with local, domestic, and international objectives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_alignment ... "Schema.org: Mission, Project, Goal, Objective, Task" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12525141
As an investor, you can choose to invest in organizations that are making the sort of impact you're looking for: you can impact invest.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_investing
You mentioned "List of global issues"; which didn't yet have a link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (the #GlobalGoals). I just added this to the linked article:
> As part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN Millenium Development Goals (2000-2015) were superseded by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (2016-2030), which are also known as The Global Goals. There are associated Targets and Indicators for each Global Goal.
There are 17 Global Goals.
Sustainability reporting standards can align with the Sustainable Development Goals. For example, the GRI standards are now aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals
Investors, fund managers, and potential employees can identify companies which are making an impact by reviewing corporate sustainability and ESG reports.
From https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-develo... :
> SDG Target 12.6: "Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle"
From https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21302926 :
> > What are some of the corporate sustainability reporting standards?
> > From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability_reporting#Initi... :
> >> Organizations can improve their sustainability performance by measuring (EthicalQuote (CEQ)), monitoring and reporting on it, helping them have a positive impact on society, the economy, and a sustainable future. The key drivers for the quality of sustainability reports are the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI),[3] (ACCA) award schemes or rankings. The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines enable all organizations worldwide to assess their sustainability performance and disclose the results in a similar way to financial reporting.[4] The largest database of corporate sustainability reports can be found on the website of the United Nations Global Compact initiative.
> >The GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Standards are now aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (#GlobalGoals). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Reporting_Initiative
> >> In 2017, 63 percent of the largest 100 companies (N100), and 75 percent of the Global Fortune 250 (G250) reported applying the GRI reporting framework.[3]
What are some good ways to search for companies who (1) do sustainability reports, (2) engage in strategic alignment in corporate planning sessions, (3) make sustainability a front-and-center issue in their company's internal and external communications?
What are some examples of companies who have a focus on sustainability and/or who have developed a nonprofit organization for philanthropic missions which are sometimes best accounted for as a distinct organization or a business unit (which can accept and offer receipts for donations as a non-profit)?
How can an employee drive change in a small or a large company? Identify opportunities to deliver value and goodwill. Read through the Global Goals, Targets, and Indicators; and get into the habit of writing down problems and solutions.
3 pillars of [Corporate] Sustainability: (Environment (Society (Economy))). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability#Three_dimension...
by doopy-loopy2 on 9/9/20, 3:09 PM
by misanthropian00 on 9/8/20, 2:47 PM
by chrisseaton on 9/8/20, 3:41 PM
Why would you look to tech companies to do this?
Isn't this what charities do?
by piuspatel on 9/8/20, 3:54 PM