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
