INTERVIEW - «Das ist ein völlig abgedrehtes, gefährliches Weltbild»: Ein CEO-Berater und Ethiker rechnet mit den Tech-Baronen ab

Guido Palazzo, the renowned business ethicist and CEO advisor, discusses the parallels between classic corporate scandals and the current behavior of tech giants in Silicon Valley. He explains that the key element of his concept called "Dark Pattern" is a rigid ideology, which is a dogmatic belief system that people blindly follow without questioning it.

This ideology is evident in the case of Boeing and the tragic 737 Max crashes, where a new CEO from General Electric, influenced by Harry Stonecipher, prioritized maximizing stock value over safety, leading to the development of an unsafe aircraft. In Silicon Valley today, a similar rigid ideology has emerged, known as techno-utopianism, which believes that artificial intelligence will soon solve all of humanity's problems and lead to an earthly paradise of abundance.

This deep faith in technology has dangerous consequences, as it discourages external criticism or regulation, viewing it as an obstacle. Palazzo warns that this ideology fosters a mindset where the ends justify the means, and companies think they are above societal rules. Laws no longer apply to them, as demonstrated recently when an attorney for Elon Musk stated that Elon can shoot rockets into space without fear of government regulation.

Palazzo explains that this mindset has led to a dangerous lack of ethical awareness within organizations, similar to the scandals that plagued the dotcom boom in the late 1990s, such as Enron and Worldcom. He predicts that a similar situation may arise in the AI sector in the near future.