Disruptors don't obey in advance

On Silicon Valley's capitulation.

Apr 16, 2025

∙ Paid

“Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
-Timothy Snyder in On Tyranny

Hey tech, where are you?

Not the oligarchs and VCs. I get their actions in an Upton Sinclair kinda way…

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
-Upton Sinclair

I’m talking about the rest of tech. You’re just gonna let these billionaire bros go unchallenged as the face of your industry? Everyone’s fine just falling in line with fascist footsie?

Zero fight

I’ve read at least some of you are depressed by what’s happening.

Many got into tech to do good — to make the world a better place — and have watched in horror as their leaders have seemed to abandon their values to rail against wokeness.

So why aren’t we hearing more about that in public? Plenty of law firms are stepping up. So is Harvard. Heck, even comedians are pushing back against the manosphere. So why does it seem like no one in tech is fighting back?

Populist rage is brewing outside your digital gates. Can you tell that Musk/DOGE/Zuck/Bezos are infuriating over half the country? Even folks at Iowa town halls are going apesh*t. So why isn’t anyone in Startupland also saying how gross it is to watch them act like toadies, enablers, and henchmen for this administration?

You’re really just gonna let All In and the Sacks/Andreesen/Thiel/crypto bro VC brigade act as YOUR spokesmen? Chamath cheerleading tariffs is the face you want?Tech folks certainly know how to message when it comes to product stuff. Put together a pitch deck or something.

I get it, you’re “product focused.” Don’t want to ruffle any feathers. Working hard on new AI tech that will…um, put everyone out of a job?

I mean, have you noticed how regular people feel about AI?

“What does that mean for our jobs if they don’t need to have actual photo shoots anymore?” asked one photographer on behalf of, well, everyone?

Similar shifts have taken place in music, television and film. Software like Pro Tools has reduced the need for audio engineers and dedicated recording studios; A.I., some fear, may soon take the place of actual musicians. Streaming platforms typically order fewer episodes per season than the networks did in the heyday of “Friends” and “ER.” Big studios have slashed budgets, making life for production crews more financially precarious.

And for the love of art, please stop the slop. “The robots ripped off Studio Ghibli perfectly.” Oh, cool. Take that, craft.

I saw the best writers of my generation destroyed by AI, starving (for Likes) hysterical naked,
podcasting themselves through the YouTube streets at dawn begging for a 5-star review

Hardware

Hardware is giving pick me vibes lately too. Look at this headline: “A new vacuum can alert you to incoming text messages. Why?”

A new vacuum cleaner raised a few eyebrows online for one of its features: text and call alerts.
A new refrigerator lets users play trivia games and watch videos on its large screen, while a combination washer/dryer is equipped to display incoming calls on its screen when linked to a phone.
As appliance manufacturers rush to add "smart" features and AI to new offerings, one question lingers: Are these features that people want?

Season 11 No GIF by Curb Your Enthusiasm

Also: No one wants VR goggles or to live in the Metaverse. (Nice antitrust trial going on over at Meta too.) It feels like tech keeps trying to sell us on living the life of a shut-in. “Just imagine if you never had to leave the house.” Oh, great.

Crypto

As for crypto, you really think the buck (well, memecoin) will stop with SBF? Somehow the waste/fraud/abuse crew seems to have no issues with the cryptogrift that’s just getting started. See: "Trump’s crypto reserve is a dream come true for his oligarch donors."

Andreessen, in addition to advising the presidential transition and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has primed the Trump administration for an orchestrated crypto resurgence. His firm, Andreessen Horowitz, has invested billions in crypto ventures. Last year, Andreessen Horowitz donated tens of millions to pro-crypto super PACs ahead of the presidential election. Now that Trump is in office, he’s been on a media blitz, decrying crypto regulations as “sanctions.”

Screen addiction

Not to mention we’re all going crazy from screen addiction. People are reading that Jon Haidt book and confirming what they already knew: Social media is trashing the minds of kids. (Note: Adults ain’t handling it all that great either!)

They’re hearing Richard Reeves on podcasts telling us how men are broken in large part because of screenlife. They know about the tell-alls revealing the behind the scenes stench at Twitter, Facebook, Uber, etc.

Tim Robinson No GIF by The Lonely Island - Find & Share on GIPHY

Paging the good nerds

The tech world needs to stop letting its worst hog the spotlight. Reid Hoffman on Colbert and a couple of engineers stacking tampons in the Facebook men’s room ain’t cutting it.

Where are you, good nerds? Any “don’t be evil” types left? Speak up! It’d be nice to hear from the techies who aren’t rapacious vultures out to squeeze humanity for every ounce of revenue before departing to New Zealand bunkers (or Mars) where they’ll live forever on whatever serum that one weirdo guy who keeps hacking his body tells ‘em to take.

Torment Nexus | Know Your Meme — The tech world constantly shows us Robocop stuff and says, "Doesn't this look like an awesome world to live in?" And I keep wondering, "Did you watch Robocop until the end?"

You’re problem solvers, right? Well, as those moon guys once said: “Austin, we have a problem.” (Close enough, OK?)

Wildfires are brewing in the souls of your users. They sense the tech world has switched from upstart disruptors to entrenched enablers. They are tired of feeling used. They are humans and humanity still has at least one last gasp in it. Burning Tesla factories and “Free Luigi” stuff could just be the beginning. Get out in front of it now – or get ready for your latest upgrade. It’ll be to Great Vampire Squid 2.0.