How Did Silicon Valley Turn into a Creepy Cult?
Silicon Valley's transformation into a tech cult with grandiose ideas like immortality and Mars colonization has led to billionaire tech leaders acting as philosophers, promoting dystopian ideologies, and causing a decline in trust and innovation. The public is increasingly wary of their influence.
Read original article
Silicon Valley has transformed into what some describe as a creepy cult, with tech leaders pursuing grandiose ideas like immortality and Mars colonization. The shift from incremental progress to megalomania has led to billionaires acting as philosophers with bizarre theories, investing in bunkers for doomsday scenarios, and promoting dystopian ideologies. The once community-focused tech pioneers like Hewlett and Packard have been replaced by individuals like Ray Kurzweil, whose utopian tech worship resembles a religious fervor. This cult-like behavior has permeated the tech industry, leading to a focus on power and social engineering rather than genuine innovation. The consequences of this shift include a lack of trust in tech leaders, worsening product quality despite promises of upgrades, and a negative impact on mental health due to excessive technology use. The public is becoming increasingly aware and alarmed by the technocracy, with a growing opposition to the control exerted by tech cultists. As concerns rise, individuals are urged to act prudently to protect themselves from the influence of these powerful figures.
Related
The hacking of culture and the creation of socio-technical debt
Algorithms shape culture, dividing it into niche groups. "A Hacker Manifesto" by McKenzie Wark discusses hackers' influence on power dynamics, emphasizing free information. Tech giants like Facebook and TikTok wield immense cultural influence, blurring propaganda and personalization boundaries. Corporate dominance in culture hacking alters global power structures, challenging governments' regulatory capacity.
Tech's accountability tantrum is pathetic
Silicon Valley tech giants criticized for lack of accountability and ethical behavior. Companies like Uber, Amazon, Google, and individuals like Elon Musk prioritize innovation over laws and ethics. Resistance to oversight and lobbying against regulations noted. Importance of accountability stressed to prevent societal harm.
Chinese tech companies push staff to the limit
Chinese tech companies are pressuring employees amid slowing growth. Layoffs and increased demands mirror start-up days. Pinduoduo sets high productivity standards but faces overwork issues. Older workers feel job insecurity. "Neijuan" concept highlights stagnant efforts. Stress, mental health concerns rise due to demanding culture. Tech sector offers high pay and mobility but lacks work-life balance, impacting well-being.
6 months ago, I left the bullshit industrial complex
Joan Westenberg, a former tech PR agency owner, left the industry due to integrity concerns. She now focuses on purposeful writing, criticizing tech's profit-driven culture while advocating for ethical technology use.
The AI we could have had
In the late 1960s, a secret US lab led by Avery Johnson and Warren Brodey aimed to humanize computing, challenging the industry's focus on predictability. Their legacy underscores missed opportunities for diverse digital cultures.
5 commentsI think this is because these people saw the horrors of WWII, plus some of them were children during the 1930s, not knowing were their next meal will come from.
The people in Silicon never experienced first hand how bad things could get. Now we have people there who never saw real suffering and in a way live in a bubble.
edit: spelling
I think that is important to see the effects of a hyper-connected society from a public health standpoint, but I do not buy that kind of cynic argument, because it's shaped without any nuance that is it hard to take the writer as a serious person. Background and ecological factors affect the way that we see technology.
I came from a scarcity world and digital technology was the entry point for my community to be more affluent, and intellectually free and make education more accessible; on the other side currently, I live in a hyper-post-scarcity society that sees technology as a threat from the democracy perspective and in terms of privacy.
> That’s especially true because our leaders—political, business, or otherwise—are letting us down. For whatever reason, they refuse to notice what the creepy billionaires (who by pure coincidence are also huge campaign donors) are up to.
That's the main issue that I have with this whole tech fear argument: most of those are completely out of touch with the current state of affairs on how society and the political system work.
In the post-scarcity society in which I live, people are more concerned about immigration, inflation, and societal return over their taxes (especially the working class). Of course, governments can work in parallel on several things but capping any random billionaire tech company won't change that reality and most of the times it hijacks the whole debate around more important things.
The way this post is written reminds me of a podcast that stretched 10 minutes of information out into an hour of airtime, or a YouTube video that stretches 3 minutes of information out into 10 minutes. There’s a few points sprinkled in here, usually one every couple “paragraphs” but really not much:
- The HP guys back in the good old days funded hospitals, these new tech guys are just weirdos (ignore Chan Zuckerberg hospital)
- There was a weird guy back then who changed his name to FM-2030
- Google hired Ray Kurzweil who is pretty cult of the machine-y
- Shockley also weird
- Tech today (Nvidia) makes a lot of money and is “dysfunctional”
- Some screenshots of Twitter polls of my audience showing my readers agree tech is bad and getting worse
- Don Draper at Big Sur.jpg
Related
The hacking of culture and the creation of socio-technical debt
Algorithms shape culture, dividing it into niche groups. "A Hacker Manifesto" by McKenzie Wark discusses hackers' influence on power dynamics, emphasizing free information. Tech giants like Facebook and TikTok wield immense cultural influence, blurring propaganda and personalization boundaries. Corporate dominance in culture hacking alters global power structures, challenging governments' regulatory capacity.
Tech's accountability tantrum is pathetic
Silicon Valley tech giants criticized for lack of accountability and ethical behavior. Companies like Uber, Amazon, Google, and individuals like Elon Musk prioritize innovation over laws and ethics. Resistance to oversight and lobbying against regulations noted. Importance of accountability stressed to prevent societal harm.
Chinese tech companies push staff to the limit
Chinese tech companies are pressuring employees amid slowing growth. Layoffs and increased demands mirror start-up days. Pinduoduo sets high productivity standards but faces overwork issues. Older workers feel job insecurity. "Neijuan" concept highlights stagnant efforts. Stress, mental health concerns rise due to demanding culture. Tech sector offers high pay and mobility but lacks work-life balance, impacting well-being.
6 months ago, I left the bullshit industrial complex
Joan Westenberg, a former tech PR agency owner, left the industry due to integrity concerns. She now focuses on purposeful writing, criticizing tech's profit-driven culture while advocating for ethical technology use.
The AI we could have had
In the late 1960s, a secret US lab led by Avery Johnson and Warren Brodey aimed to humanize computing, challenging the industry's focus on predictability. Their legacy underscores missed opportunities for diverse digital cultures.