The Applicability of Hacker Ethic in 2022

 1. Access to computers - and anything which might teach you something about the way the world works - should be unlimited and total. Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative!

I definitely agree that this has been a goal not only to hackers, but the whole world in general. Nowadays, it is expected that all children learn to use a computer on some level at least (although, it usually seems that kids left to be "babysat" by a device actually have less computer skills).

2. All information should be free.

Of course, we are not trying to save computing cycles at this point. However, I suppose this point has a new meaning nowadays - people in general should have access to as much information as possible. People in general are rather used to having information about any topic imaginable at their fingertips.

3. Mistrust authority - promote decentralization

I would say that a lot of the Internet is "decentralized" - it does not belong to anyone, it is the making of everyone who is part of it. However, at the same time we have tech giants like Google and Facebook collecting our information. Obviously, these companies are not authorities in the traditional sense, but in some way it is eerie to think the authority they might have trough the snippets of information that they have collected over time. 

4. Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or position.

I think people in tech are judged a bit less by their appearance in general, because to those they help they are often "wizards". The way computer-illiterate people look up to these "magical" folk (and then curse them to hell when the help they so desperately need does not arrive on time) might even make me believe that they were talking about a god. 

5. You can create art and beauty on a computer.

Definitely "more" true nowadays. Computers have become an unmatched helper in creating animations (for example Sullivan in "Monsters´ Inc"). Many artists nowadays prefer to use one of many available input devices meant for drawing. Recently, I really enjoyed the April Fools event on Reddit, where a subreddit called r/place was used to bring the whole community together via pixelart. Each Reddit user could place one pixel every 5 minutes. Estonians made an Estonian flag (obviously!) and later on tried to create an image of Suur Tõll. However, the Colombians decided to extend their flag which meant the literal erasure of our artwork.

Screenshot of Suur Tõll from r/place

6. Computers can change your life for the better.

I like the use of "can" instead of "will". Of course, computers have enabled humans to create things that were unthinkable a century or less ago. However, as I mentioned earlier - computers are not the greatest babysitters - they do not provide children with real company and do not teach social skills. Not to say that children should be kept away from their devices, however, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.