Normal.
Conn: The key difference between 2016 and now that we haven’t talked about is how much more brutal the Trump administration is, how much more Trump’s corruption is, and how much more egregious it is.
There are many things that are harmful to the tech industry. The very foundation of the tech industry, scientific research, has been cut and is underfunded, economic stability is at risk, our ability to attract talent from around the world – all of this is hurting, and this in turn will hurt these companies.
But if that happens, I think we could reach out to the CEOs of the top 10 tech companies and ask them to speak out because their companies are at risk.
Pete, can you add anything on this topic?
Guardian: I don’t know what’s in people’s hearts, but there was this lively – we used to describe tech startup founders; they would be universally respected. Everyone thought what they were doing was cold. The tech industry won, we became the dominant industry, and that involved a whole different lively around being held accountable and people not liking everything you do.
I really feel like this move from having a lot of freedom because you were a clumsy underdog to owning huge chunks of the economy means you’re going to face a lot more criticism. I have to believe that this was shocking to many people, many top CEOs in the tech industry who were used to being treated very favorably by the media and the public. Suddenly they were treated like the CEO of Exxon or something, and that must have been a shock.
Conn: I think it’s difficult for people to change their self-perception and stop seeing themselves as weaker. When you are weaker, punching is not as bad as when you are a bully and hit. So if you see yourself as a hitter, but the world sees you as a hitter, it’s going to be arduous to change that.
Lisa, a minute ago you mentioned that what’s happened in Minneapolis over the last few weeks has tipped the scales. This really changed the conversation. I’m curious what the conversation between your colleagues has been like over the last few weeks from both of you. What are people saying? What are they worried about? What do they think?
Conn: One thing I’ve noticed is that this doesn’t just happen to people on the left. There’s a really gigantic tent there. We hear from people who identify as moderates and independents, libertarians and Republicans, as well as from people who have never been politically energetic before. We see that people in a variety of positions – engineers, CEOs, directors, vice presidents, people at vast tech companies, people in artificial intelligence labs, startup founders, VC investors – have been concerned about this administration from the beginning, but these brutal attacks on our neighbors and the desire to suppress dissent are the tipping point. In the last 18, 19 days since this pledge went live, we’ve seen exponential growth and interest from all of these companies across the political spectrum and in a variety of roles. This is special.