THE DECODER

"There’s very little moral or political valence to the kinds of discussions or comments that you hear from tech leaders now," says U.S. technology journalist and author Jacob Silverman, who has spent years examining the power structures of Silicon Valley. "There’s almost a sense of relief that they could go back to just being craven capitalists and businessmen again."

In a highly readable interview with Politico Magazine, Silverman describes how many tech CEOs have shed the moral pretensions of the past decade to refocus entirely on profit and political influence. He sees this as the end of a short-lived moral phase in Silicon Valley — the era of self-styled progressive entrepreneurs is over. What has taken hold, he argues, is a utilitarian mindset in which social and political responsibility is consciously abandoned.

His new book, Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley, explores how economic cynicism, populism, and technological power now feed into one another.