Eric Schmidt: How Oligarchs Speak (when they think no one is listening)

Have you ever wondered what oligarchs talk about when they think no one is listening? Wonder no more. This week we dissect Eric Schmidt’s recent Q&A at Stanford University where he talks about remote work culture, the future of AI and how big tech intervenes at the highest levels of government. The kicker is…he thought it was private and didn’t realize it was being recorded. Some of his comments regarding the laziness of remote workers and the “arrogance” of the programmer community went viral prompting Schmidt to apologize and scramble to have the video removed. Considering he ran the world’s biggest internet search engine he should have known that nothing ever really disappears. In fact, we dug up his own words from 2013 when he said exactly that. Beyond the comments that got the most attention in the media (for a minute) the conversation reveals much more about the dark side of oligarchy in the United States.

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:41- Stealing Intellectual Property
05:10 - AI Energy and Investment Needs
08:45 - Work-Life Balance
09:51 - Startup Culture
13:03 - Competing with China
16:04 - War in Ukraine
18:14 - We don’t understand AI
20:37 - Free Market - Forgiveness over Permission
21:40 - AI Investment Bubble
23:37 - Election Misinformation
25:10 - Closing Thoughts
26:20 - Credits

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Unf*cking the Republic (UNFTR for short) is progressive media organization that produces a longform podcast, YouTube videos, a twice weekly newsletter and original editorials on U.S. politics, socio economics and civil liberties. Our features attempt to explain how we arrived in Bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. You can access all of our work at www.UNFTR.com

#SocioEconomics #AmericanHistory

[VALUST]

Each oligarch dreams of only one thing: being the fattest person in a nation of cannibals.

[samwhite]

This is what a vampire sounds like.
This creature of greed isn't even in its safe space, this is just a friendly space, imagine what it says to its fellow vampires.

[antediluvianatheist]

Dark side of Oligarchy?
There's a side that isn't dark?

[SheBytes]

Sociopathy is a job requirement for CEOs and politicians

[bonnieblodgett]

"Our customers are the Senate and the House." Says it all.

[AaronLance]

It’s not about him. Eric Schmidt just got caught saying the quiet part out loud.

No one gets to that level of wealth without being a sociopath. They train and compete at how to exploit people.

[zefft.f]

I did notice how casually he mentioned petitioning Congress and also earlier how he mentioned he'd just "visit the White House" and basically tell them what to do. None of this is shocking to me, of course. The only thing that used to be shocking to me is that people seem to be totally OK with it.

[spamfilter]

"The billionaire philosophy, ask for forgiveness later."
Close but not quite correct. Schmidt never suggested Tech-Bro billionairs should apologise. He said they should hire lots of lawyers so they never get punished for larceny.

[thexalon]

The bit about making programmers hustle and grind more: The key thing is that what he's saying is " *You* should hustle and grind and abandon your family and friends and everything other than your job so that *I* can get rich." And then he wonders why those "arrogant programmers" aren't excited by this plan.

[tomokeefe]

Ironic that the former CEO of Google didn't know he was being recorded.

[fettlerjohn]

This interview could be used to demonstrate what a high level psychopath presents like.

[robertchapman]

“Arrogant programmers”. He means programmers who refuse to act criminally.

[vexorian]

Schmidt being the guy who inherited a tech giant with access to the greatest talent in the industry and turned it into an advertising company.

[LuciaBeans]

He said "company" when he meant "country." But it's a Freudian slip because these people view countries as companies they can buy or take over.

[Orozco_PNW]

Dresses like Mr. Rodgers, but plots like Lex Luther.

[theschwartzawakens]

We’re already in the early stages of creating a humanity crushing dystopia. And these are the architects.

[Other.]

This is how oligarchs think:

A man wants to lose 20 pounds. He goes to his doctor who outlines a plan for the man to eat healthier and add exercise and after 6 months, he'll lose 20 pounds.

The man also asks a Venture Capitalist (VC) who tells him that he has a more efficient, easier way for him to lose 20 pounds which will save him six months.

The man chooses the VC. He goes to the VC's office and the VC cuts off his leg.

The VC then bills him twice the cost of a doctor's visit.

And yes, this is exactly the way they think. This is also the way they run their businesses (and why private equity owned nursing homes have a mortality rate that is 10 percent higher than publicly owned homes).

[dranono]

I'm an engineer and I hate that grind and hustle culture, it is ultra toxic and you can't have a family peacefully
We need to prioritize families instead of corporatism

[nettewilson]

Wealth must be capped. No one person or small group of people should be able to control too much wealth.

[kanenomoja]

“Steal everything, apologize for nothing, and move on [amass wealth and power]…”. In an only slightly exaggerated sense, isn’t that what most big tech companies did? I can think of several examples. You could add “deceive” investors and backstab partners to that list.

I spent three decades in tech, most at an exec level. These are the people who now control all social media.