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Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

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Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#381

Post by OpticalWindows »

Zigurd wrote: post #361
bogwog wrote: post #350

Anyone else find it ironic that Google is the subject of one of the biggest anti-trust cases in recent history, and now Schmidt is blaming the US for not innovating enough? Maybe if so much of the tech industry's wealth and resources weren't pooled together into a handful of massive monopolists who have nearly complete control over whether any competitor lives or dies, the US (and really, the entire world) would have…

That may be true but it does not address the kinds of large-scale, national policy issues Schmidt is talking about. We have lost our way in technology strategy. Instead of welcoming foreign students we chase them away. Instead of integrating tech markets globally to extend our soft power, we practice knee jerk techno-nationalism. It is not even done competently. The "advisors" pushing these policies are known for bei…

Beyond this blip in politics I dont see how any of your arguments has any foothold.

And again you're blaming Intel for not being a monopoly.

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#382

Post by tester756 »

lgleason wrote: post #69

"This high skills immigration is crucial to American competitiveness, global competitiveness, building these new companies and so forth," he said. "America does not have enough people with those skills." Translation -- US software engineer salaries are still too high for his liking, so he wants to dilute the market with more to lower the overall cost.

Internet told me that best performing students in USA are mostly Asians

If that's true, then his point stands, I guess?

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#383

Post by tigerbelt »

hvasilev wrote: post #317

When innovation in the world of bits is no longer sufficient and mass innovation in the physical world is required, what is the western world going to do? Knowledge is not something permanent and mass production was centralized in China decades ago. Nobody around you remembers how to build real things, unlike your competition in China. They call the shots now... "Almighty Chinese gods, can you please design, prototyp…

Is the beta path

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#385

Post by OpticalWindows »

tnolet wrote: post #287
emsy wrote: post #195

Tangential, since this article is about the US and China. But if the US has dropped the ball, then Europe (or the EU specifically) didn't even bother to go to the game. The only thing we're innovative at is coming up with regulations. And I say this as someone who thinks the US tech sector should be under much heavier regulatory scrutiny.

I’d say the EU and euro zone is one of the biggest and boldest innovations in the postwar Western world.

I would agree with that but limit the qualification to rich eurozone countries. Especially considering the inter-EU, middle east brain drain.

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#386

Post by specialist »

Late to this thread, sorry.

I have two tangental questions.

#1 In general terms, what's China's commitment (investment) in higher ed? Compared to the USA and other economies?

USA's tuition, loans, student debt is always good for an argument on HN. Almost no one mentions that the USA decided to privatize higher ed some decades back. So I was wondering if China and others made the same mistake.

#2 How does current China think about growing inequity?

One persons's story in "American Factory" resonated with me. Glass furnace technician Hong We https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10930334/ works his ass off, making huge personal sacrifices, to further enrich Fuyao Glass America owner Jeff Daochuan Liu.

Shown is gob standard corporate team building meetings where Fuyao uses economic nationalism to motivate their underpaid staff.

What is Hong We's future? When will the feel goods not be enough? When will Hong We demand to be paid fairly?

I assume Labor in China will follow the American trajectory. With all that political and cultural strive that entails. But I'm keen to hear what others think.

Edit: I think Cao Dewang is the founder and owner, not Jeff Daochuan Liu. I regret the error.

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#387

Post by smt88 »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #359
bogwog wrote: post #350

Anyone else find it ironic that Google is the subject of one of the biggest anti-trust cases in recent history, and now Schmidt is blaming the US for not innovating enough? Maybe if so much of the tech industry's wealth and resources weren't pooled together into a handful of massive monopolists who have nearly complete control over whether any competitor lives or dies, the US (and really, the entire world) would have…

Google definitely could of created a research laboratory. Wasnt it not long ago that companies would invest a lot more money on research? That was why we got so many impressive projects out of Bell Labs and I am sure other companies. Its a shame that horse race ended. Whats worse is Google wants all their software to be as intangible as possible by forcing it all on their servers. Google hasnt had many desktop apps y…

Google and Microsoft do a lot of interesting research. Waymo is a good example.

I'm not sure what Apple does.

My issue with big tech is not lack of innovation or research, but rather that it's all private. We're driving people out orgs that share their research with the world and into ones that lock it away.

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#388

Post by claudeganon »

marcinzm wrote: post #353
thewarrior wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The United States balances innovation with ethics ? The people of Hiroshima or the victims of agent orange might have something to say about that.

>The people of Hiroshima You know what I found most fascinating about the Hiroshima memorial in Japan? They go on about how bad the bombing was but literally have a statement to the effect that if Japan was invaded they would have fought to the last man, woman and child. Millions would have died on both sides and the country would have been a wasteland. So unpleasant as it is, sometimes ethics does require the lesser…

There are reams of scholarship about how the bomb wasn’t necessary to end the war in the Pacific Theater. This was, in fact, the conclusion at the time of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey:

> Bаsеd on а dеtаilеd invеstigаtion of аll thе fаcts, аnd supportеd by thе tеstimony of thе surviving Jаpаnеsе lеаdеrs involvеd, it is thе Survеy's opinion thаt cеrtаinly prior to 31 Dеcеmbеr 1945, аnd in аll probаbility prior to 1 Novеmbеr 1945, Jаpаn would hаvе surrеndеrеd еvеn if thе аtomic bombs hаd not bееn droppеd, еvеn if Russiа hаd not еntеrеd thе wаr, аnd еvеn if no invаsion hаd bееn plаnnеd or contеmplаtеd.

Americans have invented this popular narrative about Hiroshima solely because it undergirds the fragile notion of “heroism” that country still clings to. Unnecessarily nuking a city that was at that point primarily women, children, and old people is anathema to the story we tell about ourselves, so we’ve simply decided it wasn’t so.

https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/AUPress/Books/B_...

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#389

Post by rjkennedy98 »

nine_zeros wrote: post #367
rjkennedy98 wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Xenophobia and nationalism sure don't help. But somehow China a country with even more Xenophobia and nationalism is catching up to us. And the U.S. used to have more Xenophobia and nationalism in the past and was also substantially more innovative. Maybe the real problem is that the U.S. (all the way up to the top) has become anti-intellectual. We have completely dumbed down our culture so that children today want…

But Chinese xenophobia is not American style. Sure they lack immigration but so many Chinese travel outside for education and business that they are in fact hyper aware of cultural differences and are upskilling themselves en masse in dealing with various cultures. They bring that skill back home to build companies and sub cultures that ape the best of other countries. This is very unlike US style xenophobia where Mu…

China and most Asian countries are ethonostates.

In America, if you suggest that we should be an ethnostate you would not only be called a white supremecist, you'd likely lose your job. In fact, today to even suggest reducing immigration (like Trump) you get called a white supremecist. That is just a reality.

So to say that China is less Xenophobic seems crazy to me. If China had the same immigration levels that America did, I'm 100% sure you'd see the same backlash you see in America (and likely much worse).

In fact China is putting their muslim population in camps as we speak. It's easy to pooh-pooh on the racist rednecks - it's a lot harder to actually open your borders.

Re: Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt: US 'dropped the ball' on innovation

#390

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

hvasilev wrote: post #317

When innovation in the world of bits is no longer sufficient and mass innovation in the physical world is required, what is the western world going to do? Knowledge is not something permanent and mass production was centralized in China decades ago. Nobody around you remembers how to build real things, unlike your competition in China. They call the shots now... "Almighty Chinese gods, can you please design, prototyp…

You've heard a very exaggerated version of the narrative. Manufacturing output is only twice as high in China as in the US; certainly a large disparity, but hardly consistent with the idea that the Western world has stopped building real things.
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