This is the excerpt that is exceptionally relevant to the crowd here at HN:<p>&quot;These “specialists” didn’t just understand the technology — they were willing to use their knowledge to serve the state’s repressive machine. Borogan and Soldatov show precisely how those who enable censorship and surveillance justify their participation. Among the many people interviewed for the book is a Russian engineer who developed speech-recognition technology used by a number of repressive regimes. “If governments listen in on people’s conversations, it’s not the microphone’s fault!” he says.&quot;<p>Don&#x27;t play dumb about the end-result of your engineering. Don&#x27;t participate in compartmentalized projects, as they are designed to ensure you are blind to what you are really doing. Don&#x27;t hide under the &quot;just doing my job&quot; fallacy.