Broligarchy, techbrocracy & the male life crisis.

I was invited by VRT US correspondent Tom Van de Weghe to share my perspective on what Trump 2.0 would mean for tech. There are so many angles I could have covered: Trump and tech regulation, Trump and AI or crypto, the US vs Europe, etc.

I chose to focus on 3 concepts (2 of which my own inventions) that should help you understand why tech and Trump will be so intertwined. And, unfortunately, why this will be an inescapable presence in the media diet of anyone interested in technology.

Broligarchy

The first isn't anything new. It's an oligarchy, but this time, it's with tech bros. I played a little game of Guess Who, introducing the audience to people like David Sacks or Peter Thiel. Already, we see influential tech people putting their pawns at key positions. A rich SpaceX tourist without any administrator experience as the head of NASA. A Palantir person as the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment. The list will go on and on.

On the subject of Palantir. Or companies like Sauron or Anduril. (What's with Peter Thiel's Lord of the Rings obsession?) Until recently, a tech company accepting a military contract meant a surefire employee revolt. Now, it's AI drones and bald eagles all the way, baby.

We seem surprised by this vibe shift. We shouldn't be. Silicon Valley grew big on the army teat.

And regarding the tech bros themselves ... Maybe they were truly progressive. Maybe they just were because that coincided with the rise of the internet economy. Anyhow, they're mostly just business people. To quote Kara Swisher's Burn Book: 'Turns out it was capitalism after all.'

Unbridled capitalism isn't nice. But the next phenomenon is even worse.

Techbrocracy

It's not just that tech bros are enriching themselves. It's that tech bros enrich themselves ... pretending they're simply following the will of the people.

Take Zuckerberg. We all know why he did away with fact-checking or content moderation:

• It's good for the bottom line.
• He desperately wants to be seen as political guy (like Elon).
• He's scared of Trump, who threatened him with jail.

But Mark will say, as evidenced in his infamous video update: 'The culture has changed.'

Here, Zuckerberg mistakes cause and effect. Maybe the culture has changed, Mark, but it's your platforms that enabled this to happen.

We think that the challenge ahead of us one of misinformation. That we'll restore the balance by bringing truth to each and every news item. No, the problem is that people are being bombarded by a megaphone.

You see, people update their beliefs based on social observation. And a lot of that social discourse is now being dictated by two very wealthy edgelords.

This puts Musk and Zuckberg on another level than the other influential tech companies: the fact that they directly control public speech.

That's the annoying thing with techbrocracy: it's not just that the bros are directly influencing democracy. It 's that they're also undermining a critical part of it, namely: free speech.

Ironically, it's 'free speech' they claim to want to save. (Also, what's with the savior complex?) While in reality, we all know what's happening.

Male Life Crisis

Musk & Zuckerberg will say we are witnessing a cultural revolution. I say we're witnessing something else: their masculinity crisis.

It's painful that the whole world now has to suffer the insecurities of a few people that so crave the public eye, desperate for approval and adoration. It's a pity that society will deteriorate because of their quote-unquote masculine energy. That all of us will have to endure their never-ending bursts of testosterone.

It will be exhausting.

I'm afraid we will have no opt-out from these people. But I for one will be very happy to talk about something else too.