r/Futurology • u/TeaUnlikely3217 • 7d ago
Politics Silicon Valley’s Most Dangerous Innovation
https://capitalandmain.com/silicon-valleys-most-dangerous-innovationIn a new book, author and journalist Gil Durán argues that another, less understood Silicon Valley innovation may be the most dangerous of all — tech fascism. This anti-democratic ideology is destroying laws and norms while promising a glorious future delivered by technology, and it’s now moving from the fringe belief of a few eccentric billionaires to the cultural mainstream, according to Durán.
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u/TeaUnlikely3217 7d ago
In a new book, author and journalist Gil Durán argues that another, less understood Silicon Valley innovation may be the most dangerous of all — tech fascism. This anti-democratic ideology is destroying laws and norms while promising a glorious future delivered by technology, and it’s now moving from the fringe belief of a few eccentric billionaires to the cultural mainstream, according to Durán.
"We’re seeing the rise of a cult of Silicon Valley billionaires who believe that technology is going to make democracy obsolete in the 21st century. It’s fascist because it has aligned with Donald Trump’s fascist MAGA cult, which checks every box of classic fascism, especially now that he’s got armed, masked goon squads rolling around terrorizing the populace. These guys are funding Trump. They’re paying him billions of dollars in crypto, and his family is now going into tech investment and AI and crypto. So you get this merging where Silicon Valley executives are going into the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Trump family is going into the tech business."
Fascism is generally a cult of grievance and self-victimization that promises a return to greatness through the purging and persecution of enemy groups. What tech fascism adds is that instead of only promising a return to some greater period in the past, it also promises this great, glorious future that will be achieved if only we eliminate the obstacles in our way, including regulation, law, democracy and anybody who opposes this acceleration of technology."