Watching President Trump's second inauguration this week will be Silicon Valley's oligarchs: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel (who attended the inauguration). (who didn't attend, but threw an inauguration party) and their ilk could not help but notice. In favor of curry.
Once upon a time, the ultimate aspiration of the super-rich was to accumulate enough “F-you Money” to operate beyond social constraints. Currently, the tech giants are so intertwined with federal power and have so much at stake financially that they seem forced to kiss the ring.
This dynamic can be interpreted in two ways. One view is that these tech titans are simply capitulating and hedging their bets in a political environment where breaking the law can be costly (see President Trump's article ) previous threat imprison Zuckerberg). The other is that they are playing a long game, using Trump as a tool, a convenient vessel to advance their goals in the political realm.
But what do our tech buddies actually want?
Like most corporatist elites, they favor lower taxes, deregulation, and access to cheap labor. recent conflicts Populist rights over H-1B visas.
Still, for some in the tech industry, the shift to the right was personal. Take Marc Andreessen, a well-known technology investor, for example. voiced his disillusionment He saw it as a broken social contract of the Obama era. “It's a deal where you're a successful businessman, you're celebrated for your innovation and your wealth, and then you give it all up and you're celebrated again,” he said. “It washes away your sins.”
Andreessen has mixed feelings about how his philanthropy and political donations have failed to secure the immunity and praise he expected from progressives.
Motives such as greed, fear, ego, and revenge are easy to understand. But the implications become even more disturbing when you consider the unique ambitions of these tech billionaires. Their goals, rooted in blockchain, artificial intelligence, and transhumanism, could outlast President Trump and outlast the American experiment as we know it.
Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab, is the author of the 2023 book “The end of reality: How four billionaires are selling the fantasy future of the Metaverse, Mars, and cryptocurrencies” Taplin outlines their dreams. Zuckerberg's Metaverse, the concept that people might spend as much as seven hours a day wearing virtual reality headsets. Musk's colonization of Mars. Untraceable crypto assets that exist beyond the control of the state. and Teal's quest to reverse aging (live to at least 160 years old).
These ambitions can have serious consequences. And while there is not enough room here to unpack all the potential implications, they could undermine fundamental democratic principles, such as Thomas Jefferson's ideal that “all men are created equal.” Taplin insists.
In a transhumanist world where wealth determines longevity and genetic advantage, equality can become meaningless.
We are now at a pivotal moment in which we are grappling with deep questions about the future of liberal democracies, human nature, and the transformative impact of rapid technological advances such as AI. But we are entrusting the role of arbiters and expert rule-makers in shaping this future to the very individuals with the most important vested interests in these outcomes.
It won't be easy, but fighting this dystopian future may require joining forces with our strange brethren on the populist right. In a recent interview with a New York Times columnist, he said: Steve Bannon slammed “Technological feudalism” and “transhumanism”. “Everyone is scared of their power,” Bannon warned. Mr. Bannon may be wrong on many things, but this is not one of them.
Taplin, who has also had success in music and film, suggests that “humanitarians – writers, musicians, filmmakers, artists – are important in a good society.” [who] We need to provide a vision of where we want to go. ”
But the 2024 election revealed a cultural shift. Artistic influencers (like Taylor Swift, who supported Kamala Harris) appear to have lost much of their ability to shape public opinion, at least when it comes to how people vote.
In their place, the country's cultural and political discourse is increasingly dominated by tech giants, many of whom were not even born in the United States.
They are no longer the typical nerds of yesteryear. Today's tech brothers flaunt their gold chains, beautiful wives and girlfriends, and gym-honed physiques. This is “Revenge of the Nerds” but on steroids.
The nerds have inherited the Earth, and we can only hope they don't burn it down.
Matt K. LewisHe is also a columnist, podcaster, and book author.Too stupid to fail” and “filthy rich politician”
