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by bbor
639 days ago
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I would argue what has changed is structural, not technological. As our age continues to gild itself to further extremes everyday, I just don’t think there’s space to use small groups of optimistic hackers to bring bright new things to humanity through risk-prone startups. There’s too much on the line, too much accumulated power and inertia. LLM-powered cognitive systems are not going to be an iPhone moment that changes some social practices and brings some daily utility, but rather.. idk, a railroad moment, I guess. A fundamental interruption to our society and economy. A new era, for better or for worse. I really don’t think the Silicon Valley playbook will see much effective use in this new context. I applaud him for looking for a way to keep that dream alive in changing times! Hopefully he updates the rest of his when he finds some answers ;) |
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Startup hackers in the 80s through to mid aughts were, on the one hand, playing _for real_, but on stakes that weren't absurdly high.
They were all-in, but while on the one hand they didn't have an enormous amount to lose, they weren't that screwed if they lost it.
What I'm seeing increasingly the last 15 years or so is hyper-privileged rich kids playing at start-ups, without the same total level of commitment - but then, I can hardly blame them, they've more to lose, and you're a lot more screwed if you lose it all in 2024. The sort of people that would have started companies 30 years ago either can't afford to take the risk at all, or stay at indie/hobby business level and make no attempt to scale.