Comment by Matt_Cutts | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Matt_Cutts | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

At the risk of wading into a fraught discussion, here's an example from yesterday: http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/802828/cart... . Bug bounty programs have proven very effective in private industry (e.g. when Chrome pays security researchers who find vulnerabilities). The Defense Digital Service just completed one of the first bug bounty programs for the federal government. This is my personal opinion, but if bug bounty programs become more common in the government, that would mean that lots more people would be protected from hacks or identity theft.

To give another example that's under the umbrella of the US Digital Service, https://www.vets.gov/playbook/ is an attempt to bring resources for veterans into a single website. Right now, veterans may have to navigate 1000+ websites, 956 different 1-800 numbers, and just deal with more hassle than they should.

I interviewed at the US Digital Service but ended up at the Defense Digital Service because that's where I thought I could help the most. There's some good info about the sort of projects that people at the USDS/DDS work on at https://www.usds.gov/work if anyone is interested. 18F at https://18f.gsa.gov/ is also doing great work, with the extra benefit that people can work for the 18F remotely. 18F has also been a proponent for more open source in the government: https://fcw.com/articles/2016/03/25/noble-open-code.aspx

Hi Matt! Good on you for doing this. The US Govt needs more smart citizens stepping up and getting involved instead of just criticizing.

And for the anti-military types out there, ask yourself if the world is a better place if decent citizens don't get involved with the US military.

There's already plenty of smart decent people in the military and even more at defense companies. It's a structural, not a people, problem. What the US military does (both offline and online) mostly has widespread support among politicians and the US population. These policies are not a mistake to be corrected or something that will go away, it's a difference in opinion. If you don't support them you probably shouldn't be involved. There are many other ways to help your country with e.g. digital security. The "anti-military types" is just a cheap shot. Pretty much everyone I know who has been or are involved in a military (or government) has reservations about it (including myself).

> anti-military types

You may as well label them Nogoodniks and be done with it.

Congrats Matt. I hope you kick some serious ass. I have my reservations about automating administrative and criminal law, but I think you have found a spot where what you are doing is needed and can help a lot of people. I'm within a couple of hours' drive from DC. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know.

You shouldn't have reservations about automating criminal law. One of the great injustices of our time is the overloaded criminal court system, which can hold defendants for years before they see a courtroom due to the time it takes to handle simple pre-trial motions.

Clarification: we have too many people in jail. Automated systems that allow even more people to be jailed with little human intervention are what I am talking about. Not people getting their day in court.

No. A slower justice system increases the number of people in jail, which is where defendants are held before trial.

Sentences also need to be ratcheted back sharply across the board. But it's fallacious to suggest that improving the efficiency of the justice system will harm efforts to reduce mass incarceration.

We can argue another day. The purpose of my post was to offer congratulations and offer help, not debate the effect of automation on the criminal justice system. (Gotta love HN)

You should read the BuSab novels by Herbet if you think there might not be a downside to a 100% efficient bureaucracy.

Thanks for clarifying. I read "Pentagon", and think, "military industrial complex" (in more ways than one).

Those are good things, and I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, based on my own very strong bias against US militarism.

Hey Matt, just wanted to voice some support for what you're doing. The US gov't needs all the help it can get.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com