Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism - A memoir

Résumé de Careless People

1. 1

   When Idealism Meets Silicon Valley's Reality

   

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   The shark attack that nearly claimed my life at thirteen instilled a profound sense of purpose-I needed to do something meaningful with my borrowed time. This drive led me through diplomatic corridors at the United Nations and eventually to Facebook, where I believed I could help shape a revolutionary force for global good. In 2011, as I walked into Facebook's concrete-and-graffiti DC office, I was convinced the platform would transform global politics. What I couldn't foresee was how this transformation would unfold-not as the democratic renaissance I imagined, but as something far more troubling. Facebook's culture hit me like a tidal wave-punishing workloads alongside childish perks, where early employees became instant millionaires while newcomers struggled financially. The company demanded total dedication, with Sheryl Sandberg later admitting they deliberately overloaded employees because "the answer to work is more work." Our team faced daily chaos-from ISIS beheading videos to diplomatic crises-while management maintained a surprisingly simplistic view: we run a website connecting people, making it profitable and growing it. No grand ideology needed. But some of us believed Facebook would eventually need a coherent philosophy to guide its growing influence. This fundamental tension-between Facebook's self-perception as a simple tech company and its emerging role as a global power broker-would define my years there and ultimately reveal how dangerously unprepared the company was for the responsibility it had assumed.

2. 2

   The Growth Machine's Human Cost

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   When Facebook hit one billion users in 2012, leadership saw crisis instead of triumph. "Running out of road" became their mantra as stock prices fell post-IPO. This drove aggressive expansion into developing countries, leading to my dispatch to Myanmar with orders to "don't come back until you've sorted it out." In Myanmar's capital, I balanced between human rights lawyers warning against the junta and military officials worried about Facebook stoking ethnic tensions. For the few Myanmar citizens online, Facebook was their entire internet experience-a responsibility we ignored in favor of growth at any cost, establishing a pattern that would repeat destructively across developing nations. Maintaining Facebook's relentless pace while raising a child proved overwhelming. Despite public support for working mothers, the reality was harsh. I faced painful experiences trying to pump breast milk during dangerous field work in Colombia and Turkey. My performance review later criticized baby sounds during calls, suggesting I "hire a Filipina nanny" for being "service-oriented." This revealed the stark contrast between Facebook's noble rhetoric about connecting humanity and its ruthless growth machine-a disconnect with deadly consequences in places like Myanmar.

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   Behind the Curtain with Zuckerberg and Sandberg

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   Mark Zuckerberg revealed surprising traits during our travels. On his surprisingly austere private jet, he casually mentioned possibly missing his first child's birth for work priorities. During a board game, he seemed genuinely unaware when I pointed out how others were letting him win. Most concerning was his request during our Asia tour for me to organize either a riot or peace rally of over one million people to "gently mob" him. In Indonesia, he eagerly joined President-Elect Jokowi on a community visit where crowds swarmed them. Rather than being alarmed by the security risk, he was thrilled: "That. Was. Awesome." Sheryl Sandberg embodied contradictions between her public feminist image and private actions. While "Lean In" made her famous, she had female employees perform menial tasks for her book launch-the very "office housework" she criticized. Her unpredictable temper created fear among staff, from humiliating employees over minor mistakes to reducing makeup artists to tears. Even as I was in labor, I found myself writing talking points for Sheryl's unexpected meeting with Brazil's president until my doctor intervened. During the Women's March, her sole question from her private jet was "What did Melania wear?"-perfectly capturing her disconnection from the movement below.

4. Chapitre 4

   The China Compromise and Moral Collapse

   In 2017, when I took over Facebook's China policy, I discovered disturbing plans. Facebook was offering to assist the CCP with surveillance and social control, promising to work closely with the government to enforce its policies. Project "Aldrin" proposed storing Chinese user data locally through Hony Capital and establishing government-aligned content moderation. Facebook developed censorship tools, including an "Extreme Emergency Content Switch" for suppressing content during unrest. Internal documents admitted Facebook employees would be complicit in actions potentially leading to users' imprisonment or torture. Facebook had also covertly launched apps in China through shell companies, removing its branding and creating risky legal arrangements for employees. This revealed how growth priorities had completely overshadowed human rights concerns. Beyond China, Facebook's impact in Myanmar proved catastrophic. The platform's widespread adoption through preloaded phone deals enabled military-orchestrated hate campaigns that contributed to horrific atrocities documented by the UN, including systematic rape, sexual slavery, and murder. Facebook's response was inadequate, lacking both proper content moderation and cultural understanding.

   Chapitre 5

   When Democracy Became Collateral Damage

   After Trump's unexpected victory, Facebook faced internal turmoil. When questioned about Facebook's role in "the Facebook election" - a term previously celebrated internally - leadership deflected. Mark Zuckerberg publicly dismissed the idea that fake news on Facebook influenced the election as "pretty crazy," contradicting months of internal messaging about the platform's voter influence. During an APEC summit flight, Elliot detailed how Facebook aided Trump's victory through embedded staff, voter microtargeting, dark posts suppressing Democratic turnout, and significant ad revenue. Though initially skeptical, Mark grew interested in how Trump's team had leveraged their platform. The workplace environment deteriorated as Joel Kaplan, now the key liaison to the Trump administration, gained unprecedented influence over both policy and product decisions. His inappropriate behavior escalated from questionable comments to harassment, including an incident of unwanted physical contact on the dance floor. My attempted team transfer was blocked, and a company investigation into Joel ultimately led to my termination. I was escorted out by security, denied access to my personal belongings or the chance to bid farewell to my team.

   Chapitre 6

   The Reckoning: From Social Media to AI's Existential Questions

   Social media platforms that once built communities have become engines of division. Facebook's leadership repeatedly chose growth over responsibility - enabling violence and genocide, building censorship tools for authoritarian regimes, and allowing misinformation to undermine democracies. My focus shifted to AI policy, particularly regarding US-China tensions. We address critical questions about human control of nuclear weapons and lethal AI systems as technological development outpaces regulation. While buggy code on social media platforms is problematic, in nuclear systems it could be catastrophic. An AI cold war is emerging between closed and open-source models. Despite rebranding as Meta, Facebook's fundamental priorities haven't changed - growth and profit still overshadow human impact. Without addressing these failures, we risk repeating similar mistakes with even more dangerous technologies.

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