Hacker News with Generative AI: Silicon Valley

Captured: How Silicon Valley is building a future we never chose (codastory.com)
AI’s prophets speak of the technology with religious fervor. And they expect us all to become believers.
Silicon Valley, Artificial Intelligence, Future, Society, Technology
6 points by defrost 4 hours ago | 1 comments
Silicon Valley, Halt and Catch Fire, and How Microserfdom Ate the World (2015) (grantland.com)
Douglas Coupland’s novel Microserfs is about the spiritual yearnings and time-frittering activities of youngish coders immersed in the drudgery of the software-development process, and how those activities become an expression of those yearnings.
Silicon Valley, Books, Culture, Technology, Software Development
111 points by Apocryphon 2 days ago | 102 comments
Silicon Valley vs. San Francisco Socialists (jacobin.com)
On the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, socialist Dean Preston championed policies that tackled the gross inequality Silicon Valley brought to the city. That’s why he was targeted by tech capitalists like Garry Tan and Elon Musk last year.
Politics, San Francisco, Socialism, Silicon Valley
20 points by reesericci 5 days ago | 3 comments
Founders and VCs Working with Elon Musk's Doge (techcrunch.com)
Silicon Valley used to take a backseat to Washington, D.C. But now, the people disrupting technology have taken the wheel at the highest echelons of government. And that’s thanks, in large part, to the Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE.
Tech, Politics, Silicon Valley, Government, Elon Musk
14 points by tech-it-out 6 days ago | 1 comments
We Mapped DOGE's Silicon Valley and Corporate Connections (wired.com)
Since the first days of the Trump administration, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been everywhere in the federal government, moving fast and breaking things.
Cryptocurrency, Politics, Elon Musk, Silicon Valley
43 points by mdhb 6 days ago | 5 comments
Why SF tech workers are scared to speak up (sfstandard.com)
Tech workers who spend hundreds of dollars for 50-minute therapy sessions increasingly have one man they want to discuss: Mark Zuckerberg.
Tech Workers, Mental Health, Social Media, Silicon Valley
12 points by littlexsparkee 10 days ago | 4 comments
An AI bubble threatens Silicon Valley, and all of us (prospect.org)
An AI bubble threatens Silicon Valley, and all of us.
Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Economics, Silicon Valley
143 points by semiquaver 10 days ago | 131 comments
Curtis Yarvin Says Democracy Is Done. Powerful Conservatives Are Listening (nytimes.com)
The once-fringe writer has long argued for an American monarchy. His ideas have found an audience in the incoming administration and Silicon Valley.
Politics, Conservatism, Monarchy, Silicon Valley
49 points by bryan0 11 days ago | 66 comments
Silicon Valley Has Gone from 'Think Different' to 'Yes, Sir' (nytimes.com)
It is painfully obvious that we should be concerned about Silicon Valley’s growing influence over the United States government.
Silicon Valley, Politics, Influence, Technology, USA
17 points by rawgabbit 13 days ago | 0 comments
Christianity "Borderline Illegal" in Silicon Valley. Now the New Religion (vanityfair.com)
There was a time, Tan says, when such a gathering would be “maybe even reviled in San Francisco.”
Religion, Culture, Silicon Valley, Technology
15 points by Apocryphon 14 days ago | 9 comments
Why Tech Bros Overestimate AI's Creative Abilities (aaronrosspowell.com)
Silicon Valley's overconfidence in the imminent arrival of Artificial General Intelligence stems from a combination of limited understanding of the humanities, an insular culture, and a business model that incentivizes exaggerated claims about AI's capabilities.
Artificial Intelligence, Silicon Valley, Technology, Culture, Business
30 points by NotInOurNames 15 days ago | 51 comments
What Happened to Silicon Valley's Most Infamous Thought Criminal? (thefp.com)
LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg — It’s a bitterly cold day in the Low Country of Luxembourg. So when James Damore opens the door to a seventeenth-century cathedral, offering it up as a kind of refuge, I fall in line behind his gangly footsteps and follow him inside.
Silicon Valley, Controversy, Technology, People
8 points by fortran77 17 days ago | 0 comments
Stoicism's appeal to the rich and powerful (2019) (exurbe.com)
I was recently interviewed for a piece in the Times on why the philosophy of stoicism has become very popular in the Silicon Valley tech crowd.
Philosophy, Stoicism, Wealth, Silicon Valley, Technology
201 points by Tomte 20 days ago | 319 comments
DeepSeek focuses on research over revenue (ft.com)
DeepSeek focuses on research over revenue in contrast to Silicon Valley
Startups, Research, Silicon Valley, Business
196 points by gitgudflea 21 days ago | 91 comments
Waymo is now offering 24/7 robotaxi rides in Silicon Valley (theverge.com)
Waymo is kicking off the process of making its robotaxi service in Silicon Valley commercially available to everyone.
Self-Driving Cars, Technology, Transportation, Silicon Valley
13 points by mfiguiere 23 days ago | 3 comments
The Elon Musk Way: Move Fast and Destroy Democracy (theatlantic.com)
Silicon Valley’s titans have decided that ruling the digital world is not enough.
Elon Musk, Democracy, Technology, Politics, Silicon Valley
23 points by zfg 25 days ago | 2 comments
Peter Thiel's Deep Ties to Trump's Top Ranks (bloomberg.com)
A billionaire tech entrepreneur who used his wealth and influence in Silicon Valley to help Donald Trump win the presidency has deep connections to the new administration’s efforts to remake the government.
Politics, Silicon Valley, Donald Trump, Business, Government
16 points by 4ndrewl 27 days ago | 1 comments
The Hottest AI Companies Are "Apps" (bloomberg.com)
Forget LLMs. Silicon Valley investors have a new favorite AI play.
Artificial Intelligence, Startups, Silicon Valley, Venture Capital
3 points by zuhayeer 28 days ago | 0 comments
Sixty Hours a week? How about 4 uninterrupted hours a day? (cdibona.substack.com)
Again, a silly news story leads to me yammering about some of my time in the Silicon Valley. If you want to get to the meat of my response to Sergey’s memo exhorting employees to work 60 hours a week to usher in the next great age of AGI, scroll down a page or two….
Work-Life Balance, Productivity, Silicon Valley, Artificial Intelligence
19 points by mji 28 days ago | 0 comments
Who's Afraid of Peter Thiel? A New Biography Suggests We All Should Be (2021) (time.com)
Paypal cofounder Peter Thiel is famous for destroying media outlets, not paying taxes, and being a conservative tech billionaire. A new biography, The Contrarian, suggests that he is after more than riches. TIME chatted with its author, journalist Max Chafkin.
Biographies, Business, Politics, Silicon Valley
143 points by zfg 30 days ago | 216 comments
Scientist Left OpenAI Last Year. His Startup Is Already Worth $30B (wsj.com)
Silicon Valley’s hottest investment isn’t a new app or hardware product. It’s one man.
Artificial Intelligence, Startups, Business, Venture Capital, Silicon Valley
10 points by gwintrob 30 days ago | 1 comments
Techno-Fascism Comes to America (newyorker.com)
When a phalanx of the top Silicon Valley executives—Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Google’s Sundar Pichai—aligned behind President Trump during the Inauguration in January, many observers saw an allegiance based on corporate interests.
Politics, Technology, Silicon Valley, Social Commentary
67 points by greenie_beans 36 days ago | 17 comments
We don't need startups, we need Digital-Mittelstand (mertbulan.com)
Label it a cargo cult or something else, but countless nations strive to replicate the magic of Silicon Valley. The typical approach involves politicians designating a city and branding it as the “Silicon Valley of [Country Name].” They establish technology parks, offer financial incentives, and hope for the emergence of trillion-dollar enterprises. Yet, no country has succeeded in creating its own Silicon Valley. Why?
Startups, Entrepreneurship, Technology, Germany, Silicon Valley
137 points by mertbio 39 days ago | 236 comments
Why Silicon Valley is bringing eugenics back (disconnect.blog)
Elon Musk has been warning about population decline and smaller families for years. In his 2015 biography, he’s quoted as saying, “if each successive generation of smart people has fewer kids, that’s probably bad.”
Silicon Valley, Eugenics, Population Decline, Elon Musk
13 points by zzzeek 47 days ago | 5 comments
Seeking God, or Peter Thiel, in Silicon Valley (nytimes.com)
When tech luminaries talk about their Christian faith, people listen.
Silicon Valley, Religion, Tech Industry, Christianity
6 points by archagon 50 days ago | 6 comments
Silicon Valley Is Embracing Christianity (With the Help of Peter Thiel) (nytimes.com)
When tech luminaries talk about their Christian faith, people listen.
Silicon Valley, Christianity, Peter Thiel, Technology, Religion
18 points by cpymchn 51 days ago | 11 comments
Oral History of Andy Bechtolsheim (2015) [pdf] (computerhistory.org)
Oral History, Technology, Silicon Valley, Entrepreneurship, Computer History
19 points by stmw 55 days ago | 6 comments
Andreessen Horowitz Defends Hiring of Daniel Penny to Its Investors (nytimes.com)
Partners at Andreessen Horowitz, the blue-chip venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, defended to investors their decision to hire Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran acquitted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide last year, according to an internal memo viewed by The New York Times.
Venture Capital, Law, Business, Silicon Valley
21 points by jrflowers 56 days ago | 18 comments
DeepSeek's rise shows why China's top AI talent is skipping Silicon Valley (restofworld.org)
Facing visa hurdles and high living expenses, more of China’s AI researchers are choosing opportunities at home rather than abroad.
AI, China, Silicon Valley, Talent, Technology
14 points by billybuckwheat 57 days ago | 0 comments
The Inefficiency of Greed: How DeepSeek Exposed Silicon Valley's Tech Bros (medium.com)
Once heralded as the birthplace of transformative technologies and disruptive innovation, Silicon Valley now feels more like an overpriced flea market for recycled ideas. The tech bros, cloistered in their gilded towers, seem more interested in influencing elections and hoarding venture capital than nurturing the homegrown talent that could actually keep the U.S. competitive on the global stage. Enter DeepSeek — a Chinese AI company that may have exposed the limits of Silicon Valley’s imagination and its rapacious greed and inefficiency.
Artificial Intelligence, Silicon Valley, Business, China, Technology
36 points by zackmorris 59 days ago | 12 comments