The Fine Line Between Growth and Accountability
The starting gun has fired on the first 90-day sprint of the Trump presidency, marked by a whirlwind of executive orders tackling culture wars, immigration, and AI initiatives. Our tech overlords (long may they reign) are snapping up D.C. real estate to cement their proximity to Trump World as the center of gravity shifts from Palm Beach.
The ongoing "will they, won't they" saga surrounding TikTok continues to influence product roadmaps across social media platforms, from Instagram to Substack, with mixed reactions. On the left, the apocalyptic rhetoric shows no signs of slowing while the MAHA crew celebrates the demise of Red 3.
What does this political moment marked by rapid AI investment and increasingly divergent political realities mean for the future of the West?
Top of Mind
Nate Silver writes on whether President Trump’s second inauguration actually signals a “Conservative Golden Age” or if we’re merely seeing another instance of the classic political swing in America. Nate shares a history of back-and-forth from the Progressive Era to the liberal peak of the New Deal and Great Society, congress passing women’s suffrage, the Reagan-era wave, Obama’s progressive surge, etc. He claims that Trump’s first term never created a stable conservative majority; cultural institutions moved left during his presidency, and voters pivoted back to the Democrats in 2020. This piece effectively divides party shifts into four different eras by taking you through a semi-deep dive of American history.
This interview on how X built Community Notes double clicks into the team's vision to allow everyday people to add context to Tweets. In 2019, the team envisioned a system that could move at “internet speed” and build real trust, as opposed to generic labels attached to misleading content. Their prototype started small under the name Birdwatch. Their platform is now highly favored and used to counter mis and disinformation across industries. Community Notes is a refreshing case study in leveraging collective intelligence while preserving both speed and credibility. Notably, Meta has also pivoted to a community-sourced fact-checking model, highlighting a broader industry shift towards engaging users in combating misinformation.
America’s AI race with China is warping social and professional life for Chinese nationals in Silicon Valley. Some are labeled as espionage threats for speaking Mandarin or having ties to Chinese universities. Others are pressured to hide their nationality or cut ties to Chinese investors to avoid suspicion. This paranoia comes at a cost. The US urgently needs AI talent; top AI researchers are already in short supply. Meanwhile, Chinese-born founders and engineers are reconsidering whether the American Dream is worth the scrutiny. Some are bailing on the visa process altogether and moving back to China, despite being initially drawn here by America’s open market. As AI emerges as the next frontier of innovation, it has also become the latest focus in concerns over Chinese IP theft and espionage, exacerbating tensions and impacting those caught in the middle. Both espionage and stifling the West’s competitive edge are major national security concerns.
Jedidiah Jenkins argues that today’s tech giants—once seen as delivering a bright digital future—are in the same position as big oil CEO’s during the oil boom. Success has transformed them into massive, publicly traded corporations with a legal responsibility to maximize returns. No industry remains the hero forever. To the Tech Right, remember: success invites accountability. How will tech avoid becoming the next cautionary story? Even “change the world” companies can turn into machines - or worse - monsters.
ICYMI: Happy Hour Edition
The Anti-Social Century (The Atlantic)
Investors lose their appetite for the obesity trade (Financial Times)
A 'Brutalist' AI Backlash and Sundance Sparks (The Ankler)
Thoughts on Trump Ending Affirmative Action in Contracting (Richard Hanania)
A thread on short-vs-long lived capital formation re Stargate (X)
Google invests further $1bn in OpenAI rival Anthropic (Financial Times)
Ahead of Trump's Inauguration, America Really Went For It in a 'Week for the Ages' (Core Memory)
The January 6 Pardons and the Rule of Law (The Free Press)
Perplexity Finance (Perplexity)
What the Tech Right sees in Trump (Pirate Wires)
Science Corp. Aims to Plant Ideas in Brains with New Device (Core Memory)
