LOne of the characteristics of Silicon Valley is that it prides itself on philosophy. Beyond turnover measured in number of clicks, its leading figures have always displayed lofty claims: to change life (Steve Jobs), the world (Mark Zuckerberg), and even death (the transhumanists).
Trend of the moment: techno-optimism. After having bowed under the weight of the revelations about their commercialism and the disinformation circulating on the platforms, the “monarchs” of tech are counter-attacking, not dissatisfied with riding the wave of artificial intelligence. “ It’s time, once again, to raise the technology flagproclaims investor Marc Andreessen. It’s time to be techno-optimists. »
Marc Andreessen, 52, co-founded Netscape, the ancestor of Web browsers, in 1994, before selling it to AOL in 2003. His investments, always in the winning trifecta (Facebook, Airbnb, etc.) made him a billionaire in sight. His libertarian positions have earned him the label of“chief ideologue of the Silicon Valley elite »according to New York Times. For him – as for his portfolio, estimated at $1.8 billion – technology is “the only source of perpetual growth ». Thanks to machines, “our descendants will live in the stars”, he promises.
In his sights, Marc Andreessen targets the Cassandras who breed resentment in the age of AI. “We are told that technology is taking our jobs, lowering our wages, increasing inequality, threatening our health, ruining the environment, degrading our society, corrupting our children, altering our humanity, threatening our future”he states in a manifesto (The Techno-Optimist Manifesto)published on October 16, 2023. According to him, this “massive campaign of demoralization” has various names: ” sustainability “, “sustainable development goals”, ” precautionary principle “, “decrease”… In contrast, the investor praises technology supermen. Thanks to them, man “no longer lives in huts” expecting every day that “nature kills him”.
The new cry of tech
Marc Andreessen claims to be part of the movement“effective accelerationism”, whose standard bearer is a former Google employee, the Canadian Guillaume Verdon, alias Beff Jezos on social networks. A subculture that has nothing but contempt for “doomers”who fear the electronic apocalypse, and “decels”supporters of the “deceleration” of AI and state regulation.
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