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The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

simonandschuster.com

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Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#71

Post by adev_ »

imtringued wrote: post #66
adev_ wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Elon Musk must be one Spoiler: He is not. But he is very good at faking it. Anytime he tries to give a serious opinion on anything related to computers: It is laughably bad and out of touch (SQL, compilers, languages, performance, etc... ). He definitively has a scientific background but definitively not "Tech" as far as computer are concerned.

Elon Musk is probably one of the most cutthroat businessmen on the planet. His skills don't lie in technological implementation whatsoever. Martin Eberhard was the technical co-founder of Tesla and Elon Musk is trying his best to erase his contributions to Tesla.

Yes. As far as business is concerned, facts speaks for themselves.

But that has nothing to do with the valley chips and computer nerdery

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#72

Post by konart »

croes wrote: post #57
konart wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's my point. Any tech can (and is) used for this. There's really no point in putting word "code" there. It adds very little additional context. Only in my opinion mostly serves the other goal - to sell.

By code doesn’t mean all code it just describes the modus operandi to distinguish them from the old type that used oil for instance

Again, this is my point: there's no real reason to distinguish them from the old types. :)

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#73

Post by mc32 »

konart wrote: post #47
edu wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Code absolutely belongs there. Like any technology (be it printing presses, weapons, or algorithms) code is neutral by design, but not by impact. It can bolster democracies or undermine them. The real agency lies with those who wield it. And it's rarely the coders. It's the leaders, the platforms, the systems that choose how code is deployed.

That's my point. Any tech can (and is) used for this. There's really no point in putting word "code" there. It adds very little additional context. Only in my opinion mostly serves the other goal - to sell.

You can argue the same for the capital that goes in. It’s used for what it’s used. By itself it’s neutral.

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#74

Post by mariusor »

jelder wrote: post #54
konart wrote: post #8

>democracy is being dismantled not by coups or tanks, but by code, capital, and the illusion of innovation Not sure "code" belongs here. Even less sure about "illusion". Take those away and what is left is "dismantled... by capital". Nothing new, really.

The purpose of software is to reduce the cost of change. Of course “code” belongs here.

I take parent's meaning to be that "code" is redundant in the repetition not blameless.

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#75

Post by n4r9 »

major505 wrote: post #34
n4r9 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thiel is probably the most obvious example, being explicitly anti-democracy and pro-authoritarian. Musk is also known for endorsing fringe far-right views and activists. I wouldn't be surprised if there are many more such attitudes in the SV elite, but the rest of them are better at self-regulating.

[flagged]

Are you talking about this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

It looks like nothing actually happened...

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#76

Post by newsclues »

podgorniy wrote: post #48
newsclues wrote: post #35

[flagged]

Right wing activists working with and within government (think taxation, immigration, housing, environment, race, gender) have made a mess of government and society, and are calling anyone who criticizes the current mess as far radical left. This is stupid and dangerous, but an obvious deflection from the root cause, concervatives who have made quality of life worse prompting an angry reaction that threatens their po…

Right wing? In Canada, UK, and many other western nations?

I am not interested in US politics, but if you don't think the current government is not a REACTION to past governments and actions(the summer of love riots of 2020, remember that?), I don't know what to say.

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#77

Post by GJim »

_heimdall wrote: post #45
GJim wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the biggest one is probably the total lack of principles and common sense possessed by the median voter. Hard disagree. The biggest problem is a misinformed electorate. An accurate, honest and truthful press is vital for democracy; how else do people know whom to vote for! The fact this is being dismantled (often supplying deliberate misinformation) is truly worrying. After all, the electorate is entitled to have a…

I don't know if you will find a time in US history where the press was accurate, honest, and truthful. I agree with GP that a primary missing feature is a principled public - without principles people swing wildly in opinion depending on the topic and popular rhetoric. I see this with much of my own family. They mostly consider themselves conservatives and Republicans of the small government and balanced budget era.…

> I don't know if you will find a time in US history where the press was accurate, honest, and truthful.

1) Spare us the US defaultism!

2) If we are going to make this conversation about the USA, didn't US broadcast media have a 'fairness doctrine' that was abolished some years back? Hence the growth in outlets providing heavily biased dishonest news on broadcast media? I suggest this has driven much of the popular rhetoric of which you speak.

Frankly, every country has seen a growth in biased social media "news" sources regardless as to the broadcast media fairness doctrines that still exist in those countries. Deliberate misinformation and a lack of trust in journalism is real.

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#78

Post by newsclues »

pjmlp wrote: post #40
newsclues wrote: post #35

[flagged]

Anything that is a millimeter to the left in US politics, which happens to still be considered right in the rest of the world, gets immediately coined as left wing activists.

I use the term progressive as a slur for the idiots who think communism is good and capitalism is evil (posted from their iPhones at Starbucks).

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#79

Post by draw_down »

GJim wrote: post #31
roenxi wrote: post #9

I would assume by default that billionaires are politically active and causing a problem. However this link doesn't give a lot of hints about how or wherefore. I assume this is a jab at Thiel; but it is a bit light on in the synopsis department. There are a huge number of threats to democracy and the biggest one is probably the total lack of principles and common sense possessed by the median voter. It is a real prob…

> the biggest one is probably the total lack of principles and common sense possessed by the median voter. Hard disagree. The biggest problem is a misinformed electorate. An accurate, honest and truthful press is vital for democracy; how else do people know whom to vote for! The fact this is being dismantled (often supplying deliberate misinformation) is truly worrying. After all, the electorate is entitled to have a…

[dead]

Re: The Nerd Reich – Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy

#80

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

jamil7 wrote: post #12
skrebbel wrote: post #2

I'm not a big sucker for this kind of un-nuanced "us vs them" rhetoric, but I gotta admit, the title is a stroke of genius.

It's cute but are there any actual nerds left in big tech leadership? Of the magnificent seven we basically only have Jensen Huang left as a technical leader and maybe you can count Zuckerberg.

> maybe you can count Zuckerberg

I think that you definitely need to count him. He's always been a massive nerd, his attempts to bulk up and become a MMA competitor notwithstanding.

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