Discussion: Trump Is Changing the Game: What's Next for Tech Startups?
Today, I watched an episode of "The Ben and Marc Show", where Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz discussed how Trump's victory could change everything for tech startups. Initially, I thought, "Politics isn't really my thing," but something caught my attention, so I decided to watch. And you know what? I didn't regret it for a second.
They talked about how, apparently, the last four years have been a real challenge for those in the tech industry. Constant pressure and unclear regulations have been stifling innovation. The crypto industry suffered particularly hard. Imagine this: some legally compliant companies were simply kicked out of the banking system! As Marc said, "It was a direct act of authoritarian violence."
An interesting fact about the Amish: it turns out that the Amish, who historically don't vote at all, came out to vote for Trump because their farms were subjected to raids for selling unpasteurized milk. At the same time, car theft is barely considered a serious crime. Marc and Ben gave an example: "If you steal a car and just go for a joyride, it's practically not a crime. But if you sell unpasteurized milk, expect the FBI at your doorstep." It's both funny and sad. This shows how selectively laws are applied and how ordinary people and businesses suffer.
To stand up for the interests of startups, Marc and Ben became actively involved in politics. They supported candidates who advocate for technology and development, rather than bans and restrictions. To do this, they created an organization called Fair Shake—a political action committee (PAC) that funded campaigns for pro-technology candidates. Their efforts paid off: many of the candidates they supported won their elections. I really liked how they said, "Someone needs to stand up for IT and startups, and we're doing it." A beautiful example of democracy! Their optimistic outlook for the crypto industry is particularly encouraging. Although I personally don't use cryptocurrency much, I was always annoyed by how Telegram's crypto project was shut down. As an IT entrepreneur, I didn't like that at all. I wonder if the situation will change under Trump? Maybe government decisions will be reconsidered, and Pavel Durov will finally be able to implement what he planned.
They also discussed artificial intelligence. Marc and Ben emphasized how important it is to support innovation in AI and not stifle it with excessive regulation. I myself am working on a startup in the AI field and see how quickly new technologies are taking over the world. Of course, they can be intimidating, and it's important that they don't fall into the wrong hands. But it's necessary to maintain a balance and allow them to develop, to trust the process, and act based on circumstances rather than preemptively banning everything. In Europe, where I am, some AI features appear later due to stricter regulations, and that's not the most pleasant trend. At the same time, I haven't heard of any tragic or truly frightening situations since the appearance of GPT-3.5.
Moreover, they drew attention to energy and its connection to AI. Developing artificial intelligence requires enormous computational power, which means energy. They discussed the possibility of reviving nuclear energy as a clean and efficient source. An interesting thought. Perhaps in the future, this will help solve many problems. In fact, if the news is to be believed, this is already happening. It seems that Google and Amazon have begun constructing mini nuclear reactors.
What do you think—will it now be easier for startups and tech companies to thrive? Maybe it's time for us to take part in shaping the future of technology and not stand on the sidelines.
If you're interested, watch the episode yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4jWb-0nj44
Maybe it's time for the pendulum to swing in the other direction in terms of regulation and all the things you mention, but I think this is why it sucks that all we have is a pendulum, and can't get people to talk like adults.
My gut has been that during the next administration there's going to be a fire sale on regulation, and we're in for some type of major bubble popping due to de-regulation ala the savings and loan crisis or 2008, not to mention probably numerous health crises in our future from less trust in vaccines and less regulation by the FDA.
But like, one side is rarely right about everything, so the fact that we have to choose between two extremes sucks.
Also, and I’m not saying Ben and Marc are wrong here, but I would have a healthy dose of skepticism towards anyone who says “the really core problem with our world is that we’re not doing this thing that would benefit me personally”.
Maybe we need more startup innovation, or maybe that’s just the thing the person heavily invested in startup innovation thinks.
The fact that two main parties emerge because of our method of voting is known as Duverger's Law (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law)
My gut is business as usual in America, what we've been doing since the end of WWII, has come to an end. Biden was the last of the post-war era presidents.
Trump is a completely different animal with a completely different mindset and the majority of checks and balances to keep him in check have been removed. America is going to be fundamentally different as a result. Don't think we're going to have four years of Trump and then go back to the way things used to be. That's not going to happen. Too much will have been destroyed to easily go back. We're in new territory, we're at the dawn of a new era - and I'm afraid it's going to be a much darker era than the one we just left.
The FBI doesn't raid Amish farms for selling unpasteurized milk - that was the state of Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture. The FBI only investigates federal crimes, and selling unpasteurized milk is not a federal crime. If the Amish voted for Trump believing that Trump could change the regulations of the state's Agriculture Department, then they're as poorly educated as they're believed to be.
The reason crypto is being regulated so much is multi-fold. One, people are getting scammed left and right. Two, crypto is really a debunked 19th century financial artefact masquerading as being "new" and "modern."
With regards to AI, let me ask you this - would you consider Trump and his sycophants to be the "wrong hands?" They're the people wielding the power and calling the shots now. What's to stop them from using the AI that they could make only available to them and using it to retain their own power?
As far as Trump "changing the game", that is true: he's putting know-nothings in position of considerable power. Trump has no idea how the government works, what it does, and how it does it, and you can bet your bottom dollar neither do the morons receiving appointments. Heck, Trump has no idea how a business works and how to run it successfully for the long term! The government will be destroyed due to their incompetence and arrogance. People will think that's great until it dawns on them what that really means. The states are woefully unprepared to take on the functions the federal government provides.
The upshot is China will be poised to take over the world's thought leadership. Maybe your startup could help us learn Mandarin?
Sorry to burst your utopian bubble but the real world we're actually building is distinctly dystopian in nature. Let me know how your tech startup is going to change that and how you think they're going to allow it to thrive.
https://www.devex.com/people/is-air-france-s-24-hour-cancell...