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Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

nytimes.com

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Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#11

Post by Cyph0n »

tcbawo wrote: post #7
Cyph0n wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm starting a PhD in circuit design this Fall. What I've read and noticed is that there will be a shortage in strong hardware researchers in a few years due to the rising popularity of AI and ML. What do you think about this? However I also have working experience in software dev, just in case this prediction doesn't pan out in the long run. I'm actually going to work on a small business idea (likely SaaS) before my…

My advice is to find something you enjoy doing, rather than what you think is marketable. You might guess incorrectly and have neither money or job satisfaction. But, don't stress too much about choosing a path. Your career will evolve over the years.

I agree. I enjoy both fields (CS and EE), so I think I should be OK in that regard. I'm going for a PhD because I'd like to teach eventually, but I'm not sure about what I want to do in between.

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#12

Post by Alex3917 »

If the U.S. really had a shortage of prosperity then this would make sense. The problem is that the U.S. already has more wealth than it knows what to do with, it's just that it's completely misallocated.

And given the fact that sending our designs to China to get manufactured is basically the only thing stopping them from going to war with us, I'm not convinced it really makes sense to give up this benefit in order to 'fix' domestic problems that don't really have anything to do with globalization.

Certainly there could be more domestic manufacturing than there is currently, but just because the current system is causing some problems doesn't mean we should discount the benefits.

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#13

Post by jakelarkin »

Consumers will pick the best cheap gadget regardless of origin. Investors want maximal profits in a 1-3 years time frame. The system unfortunately does not afford much wiggle room for ethical and national duty when working with those constraints.

Grove's outlook also colored by difficulties of semiconductor industry. Asia in addition to having cheap labor, governments would prop up barely profitable fabrication companies as national champions, give them subsidized loans and regulatory favors. American investors & management, perhaps rightly, balked at trying to compete on that front.

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#15

Post by Cyph0n »

Chronic51 wrote: post #6
Cyph0n wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm starting a PhD in circuit design this Fall. What I've read and noticed is that there will be a shortage in strong hardware researchers in a few years due to the rising popularity of AI and ML. What do you think about this? However I also have working experience in software dev, just in case this prediction doesn't pan out in the long run. I'm actually going to work on a small business idea (likely SaaS) before my…

The demand for AI and ML is increasing faster than the number of qualified graduates and workers. This is not true for semiconductors.

I see, but won't demand likely increase in the near future, given that we're hitting the limits of silicon?

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#16

Post by _yosefk »

e0 wrote: post #10

Here's a direct link to the Andy Grove's opinion piece referenced in the article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-07-01/andy-grove...

From that piece: " Levy an extra tax on the product of offshored labor. (If the result is a trade war, treat it like other wars—fight to win.)"

I don't claim to have good/better ideas on this issue, but starting a trade war and fighting it to win does not sound very promising, especially since trade wars can develop into, well, plain wars (the decade from 1929 to 1939 had its fair share of protectionism and ended pretty badly.)

Theoretically (very theoretically), a better approach for any two countries, and eventually it might become the only workable approach, is to act to maximize the benefits for the citizens of both countries. How to get there I don't know.

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#17

Post by lisper »

_yosefk wrote: post #16
e0 wrote: post #10

Here's a direct link to the Andy Grove's opinion piece referenced in the article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-07-01/andy-grove...

From that piece: " Levy an extra tax on the product of offshored labor. (If the result is a trade war, treat it like other wars—fight to win.)" I don't claim to have good/better ideas on this issue, but starting a trade war and fighting it to win does not sound very promising, especially since trade wars can develop into, well, plain wars (the decade from 1929 to 1939 had its fair share of protectionism and ended pre…

> fight to win

What exactly does victory in a trade war look like?

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#18

Post by Umn44 »

luso_brazilian wrote: post #9

> "There was room for improvement, he argued, for what he called “job-centric” economics and politics. In a job-centric system, job creation would be the nation’s No. 1 objective, with the government setting priorities and arraying the forces necessary to achieve the goal, and with businesses operating not only in their immediate profit interest but also in the interests of “employees, and employees yet to be hired.”…

"Although a valid concern putting "job creation" as a goal for governments can (and in a lot of occurrences in recent history, did) backfire spectacularly."

Except you're wrong, the corporate world is always on the governments tit.

Protectionism for the rich and big business by state intervention, radical market interference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHj2GaPuEhY#t=349

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#19

Post by yongjik »

lisper wrote: post #17
_yosefk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From that piece: " Levy an extra tax on the product of offshored labor. (If the result is a trade war, treat it like other wars—fight to win.)" I don't claim to have good/better ideas on this issue, but starting a trade war and fighting it to win does not sound very promising, especially since trade wars can develop into, well, plain wars (the decade from 1929 to 1939 had its fair share of protectionism and ended pre…

> fight to win What exactly does victory in a trade war look like?

...Consumers are forced to buy your expensive product instead of cheap imported ones?

Re: Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley

#20

Post by bubbleRefuge »

luso_brazilian wrote: post #9

> "There was room for improvement, he argued, for what he called “job-centric” economics and politics. In a job-centric system, job creation would be the nation’s No. 1 objective, with the government setting priorities and arraying the forces necessary to achieve the goal, and with businesses operating not only in their immediate profit interest but also in the interests of “employees, and employees yet to be hired.”…

It can also be spectacularly successful . Although it wasn't a jobs program, WWII and its aftermath, driven by the state and centrally planned, resulted in great economic prosperity -perhaps unprecedented prosperity. Why can't we have a WWII on infrastructure, green energy, science funding, pollution cleanup, transportation, hyper-loops ?
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