From MIT Technology Review · · 2m
Silicon Valley's midterm miscalculation
Tech leaders who claim to predict the future backed Trump weeks before the midterms, then watched Democrats win. Now their industry faces political blowback.
In brief
Tech leaders who claim to predict the future backed Trump weeks before the midterms, then watched Democrats win. Now their industry faces political blowback. Silicon Valley's top executives aligned with Trump five weeks before midterms despite polls showing rising anti-Trump sentiment, damaging their industry's…
Visionaries who missed the obvious
Five weeks before the midterm elections, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and other tech leaders gathered at the White House to support President Trump's Super Intelligence agenda.
The polls said otherwise
Dozens of polls showed rising anti-Trump sentiment and bipartisan rejection of AI and data centers. Tech leaders cast aside long-term corporate interests for short-term political favor.
Now they face the consequences
After the midterms, the tech industry is squarely in the new victors' crosshairs. Tech leaders have jeopardized their companies' fates and raised questions about their vision and judgment.
Employees are confused
Tech workers at OpenAI, Meta and other firms have noted an absence of commentary from their leaders post-election. Zuckerberg has yet to address the results internally.
They built an inescapable bind
By going all in on Trump's agenda instead of playing both sides as corporate America usually does, tech leaders built identities they may not be able to pivot out of.
Expertise has limits
Insights about social media or artificial intelligence do not make Zuckerberg or Altman experts on politics or the economy. Instant gratification of presidential access blinded them to political math.
No undo button in politics
In tech you can sunset a feature or update code. In politics there is no undo button for failures that change public perception. Tech elites have no credible way to pivot now.
“In tech, you can always sunset a feature or update some code. But in politics, there is no undo button for failures that change public perception.”
AI became a culture war
By kowtowing to Trump, Silicon Valley made artificial intelligence a culture-war issue. Citizens voting on data center proposals now consider political concerns, not just technical or economic ones.
A myth punctured
Tech leaders did not see this coming because they focused on the urgency of the AI race. Their misreading has punctured the myth that Silicon Valley leaders can always see what's next.
What matters most
Silicon Valley's top executives aligned with Trump five weeks before midterms despite polls showing rising anti-Trump sentiment, damaging their industry's political standing.
