Should California Fight for or Against Silicon Valley?

The Growing Federal War on ‘Big Tech’ Poses a Quandary—and Exposes Our Hypocrisy

Which side should California be on in the coming federal war against Silicon Valley?

The question feels less hypothetical after the State of the Union address, when President Biden blasted “Big Tech” and promised new restrictions on the lifeblood of Silicon Valley businesses—their ability to collect and use our data. Republicans in Congress, while rudely heckling the president in other parts of his speech, stood and applauded these threats, which makes it even more likely that Californians soon will be in a conundrum.

Because Silicon Valley is the place that exposes our …

by Joe Mathews | March 7, 2023

The Victorian Vision of Disruption Is a Tech Bro Fantasy

The Real Lesson from the Late 1800s Is That Futures Are Best Made Collectively

by Iwan Rhys Morus | December 19, 2022

Are tech bros the new Victorians? I’m sure they wouldn’t think so. In fact, I’m sure they’d be deeply insulted by the notion. The Victorians of our imagination are staid …

Did Moore’s Law Really Inspire the Computer Age?

A Half Century Ago, Chemist Gordon Moore Made a Prediction—Or Was It a Challenge?—That Became a Narrative for Our Time

by Rachel Jones | March 22, 2020

In the last half-century, and especially in the last decade, computers have given us the ability to act and interact in progressively faster and more frictionless ways. Consider the now-ubiquitous …

Why ‘Relentless Positivity’ Now Dominates America’s Youth Sports

From Silicon Valley, a Philosophy of “Positive Coaching” Has Caught on Across the Country

by Joe Mathews | February 18, 2020

California has failed to contain the excesses of its technology executives. But Californians have made progress in curbing the worst impulses of another group of would-be dictators: Little League coaches.

For …