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America's tech corridor holds immense influence over our future. So it's worth understanding life there — and the people who power it. Today's newsletter is about the new vibe in Silicon Valley. That's the focus of several stories our tech journalists have recently reported from the world's tech capital.
'Shut up and grind'
Silicon Valley behemoths like Google, Apple and Facebook became famous a generation ago for pitching great lifestyle jobs: Forget the cubicles and neckties of the old economy. Come enjoy free sushi and workout classes; take breaks for Ping-Pong. Let's change the world!
Then, around 2022, they decided they had become bloated. Meta eliminated a third of its work force. Elon Musk bought Twitter and fired three-quarters of its staff.
New focus. The job cuts weren't just about economics. They were also about priorities. Over the years, leaders felt progressive politics had overtaken the workplace. Now companies began to nix 'moderators, marketers, media handlers and all things associated with diversity and inclusion,' writes my colleague Mike Isaac, who chronicles this seismic realignment. 'Heaven help those with a humanities degree.'
Masters of war. The new priorities include something that tech's early do-gooders had forsworn: digital armaments. As Sheera Frenkel reports, Meta, Google and OpenAI once banned the use of artificial intelligence in weapons. Today, OpenAI makes anti-drone tech, and Meta makes virtual reality glasses to train soldiers. One start-up sells drones fitted with A.I.-guided cruise missiles.
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