Venture capitalism prioritizes profit-driven platforms at the expense of broader societal interests.
Venture capitalists manipulate investors and prioritize short-term gains over long-term value.
The tech industry leverages geopolitical rivalry to avoid scrutiny and regulation while seeking government support.
Deep dives
Venture Capital: Risk-averse and Parasitic Investors
Venture capitalists are often portrayed as risk-taking entrepreneurs seeking valuable enterprises within the tech ecosystem. However, in reality, these investors are more inclined towards risk aversion, laziness, parasitic behavior, and self-interest. They lack the capacity and willingness to conduct due diligence necessary to identify genuinely valuable opportunities. Their superficial approach to investment often leads to misallocation of resources and externalizing costs onto the public. Furthermore, venture capital is characterized by insular networks, herd mentality, and concentration of power among a few key players. This results in funding predominantly focused on profit-driven platforms, surveillance technologies, and commodification of daily life, all to the detriment of the broader society.
The Illusion of Venture Capitalism: Self-Interest and Deception
Venture capitalists often present themselves as risk-taking truffle pigs, tirelessly searching for companies with breakthrough potential. However, the reality is vastly different. They are deceptive and manipulative, primarily driven by self-enrichment and willing to mislead investors to attain their goals. Their focus on short-term returns and insular networks leads to a lack of genuine anticipation of value-generating technologies. Consequently, venture capital is prioritized towards platforms that extract profits through surveillance, control, and commodification, disregarding the long-term interests of society. The industry is plagued by self-centeredness, mismanagement of public funds, and a shallow approach to identifying genuinely productive and socially useful technologies.
Tech Industry's Geopolitical Game: China, Government Collaborations, and AI Hype
The relationship between the tech industry, venture capital, and government is complex and ever-evolving. Initially positioning themselves as separate from the government, tech giants increasingly seek closer ties while justifying their monopoly-like status as crucial for countering Chinese domination. However, this narrative conceals the reality of China's monopolies and the government's involvement in their formation, control, and dissolution when desired. In the race for AI development, venture capitalists and tech firms swiftly shifted their focus, using fear of Chinese technology advancements as a justification for aggressive AI investments. This hype cycle creates opportunities for market manipulation, exploitation of unfinished edges in labor and copyright, and the erosion of social and cultural values in favor of profit-driven platforms. By leveraging the geopolitical rivalry, tech industry leaders seek government support while avoiding scrutiny and regulation.
The Impact of Venture Capitalists on Technology and Society
Venture capitalists' immense influence in the tech industry and wider economy drives the development of certain types of technology. They prioritize business models that lead to monopoly scale, advance surveillance and labor exploitation platforms, and promote regulatory arbitrage. This focus on profitability narrows the range of possibilities for human activity and perpetuates exploitative systems like the gig economy. The venture capitalists' insistence on market logic as a solution to social problems reinforces the idea that privatization is the answer, undermining alternative societal approaches. Overall, this fuels a vicious feedback loop that enriches the venture capitalists while worsening social, political, and economic conditions for others.
Competing Narratives on AI and their Motivations
Different actors in the tech industry deploy diverse narratives about AI, driven by their own incentives. Some warn of the existential threat of AI and use it as a marketing strategy, while others emphasize the glory and promise of AI, painting a rosy picture of its potential benefits. However, behind these narratives lie dangerous ideologies, such as eugenics, racism, and sexism. Many influential figures in the tech industry seek to build a global apartheid system, perpetuate violence, and create a permanent caste system along lines of race, class, and gender. These actors distort reality and manipulate public perception to maintain their power and control.
Paris Marx is joined by Edward Ongweso Jr. to discuss how the venture capital industry works, why the technologies it funds don’t deliver on their marketing promises, and how that’s once again being shown in the hype around AI.
Edward Ongweso Jr. is a freelance journalist, co-host of This Machine Kills, and guest columnist at The Nation. You can follow Ed on Twitter at @bigblackjacobin.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
