Until very recently, Silicon Valley has enjoyed fawning adoration from much of the media and has been viewed by the general public as a group of genius prophets who will guide us into the future. 2017 will be the year that this vision of Silicon Valley will be irrevocably and utterly shattered. By the end of the year, we will view many Silicon Valley business people for what they are: a new wave of robber barons who don’t care about us. The only difference, as Emmett Rensin put it in his thoughtful takedown of Silicon Valley for the Outline, is, “At least the real robber barons built railroads.”
If Hillary Clinton had won, the Valley’s CEOs would have been able to hide behind the dotage of superficially woke technocrats for a few more years. Donald Trump’s presidency will allow for unfettered Silicon Valley greed, and it will show consumers what many journalists and watchdogs have long understood: Silicon Valley is not your friend.
