Tech Titans Wage a High-Stakes War for America's Tech Supremacy

Silicon Valley and Washington are forging an unlikely alliance to counter China's technological prowess, but some fear it could lead to dangerous groupthink.

May 09, 2024

The Story:

Hawkishness towards China has become a dominant force in Washington, stretching across two presidential administrations and involving lawmakers from both parties. This bipartisan consensus on the need to counter China's technological rise has empowered groups like the Hill and Valley Forum to exert significant influence on policymaking.

Led by Jacob Helberg, a former Google policy adviser, the group leveraged its connections with lawmakers and its ability to generate alarmist narratives about TikTok being a "weapon of war" controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. They helped draft and promote a law signed by President Biden that calls for the forced sale or ban of TikTok, a video app owned by the China-based company ByteDance. The group sees this TikTok legislation as a "bellwether" for bigger policy shifts and the start of a "war" against China's technological influence. This victory has emboldened the group to set its sights on the next frontier of tech competition: AI. Helberg and his associates are reportedly preparing an executive order that would dismantle the Biden administration's regulations on AI, instead pushing for increased government funding and contracts for AI initiatives that could benefit the group's members. The group sees technology as a tool for American nationalism and an anti-China agenda, in contrast with the industry's long-held ideals of boundaryless technology.

"I think the consensus has actually moved closer to where I am, which is that China is an adversary, we are in a technology cold war—whether we call it that or not—and that you can't be equidistant between the U.S. and China and try to be Switzerland," said Jacob Helberg.

The tech industry, particularly firms like Sequoia Capital the largest and most fabled Silicon Valley investment firm, have also become more aligned with the U.S. government's national security concerns regarding new technologies. This has resulted in a growing confluence of interests between the tech sector and the national security establishment, as both seek to maintain America's technological edge over China. They want to undercut China's status as a U.S. trading partner and are designing legislation to shift the AI supply chain, including semiconductor chips, to domestic manufacturers.

"What Sequoia Capital now represents is a firm that is based in the U.S. and in Europe, investing in the West. And we really care about Western values, Western ideals, and U.S. competitiveness," said Roelof Botha, managing partner of Sequoia Capital.

However, there are fears that this level of bipartisan, bicoastal consensus could lead to potential blind spots and stifle further avenues for addressing the China-U.S. relationship. Critics argue that the Hill and Valley Forum's mission is primarily self-serving, driven by a desire to secure lucrative government contracts and shape policies that benefit their own technologies and business interests.

Countering these criticisms, the Hill and Valley Forum argues that this is necessary to counter China's growing technological prowess and maintain America's edge in the global tech race. The group's worldview is heavily influenced by figures like Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor and longtime China hawk, whose firm Founders Fund has sponsored the Hill and Valley Forum's events. They see the US-China relationship as a "gray war" in the "murky gray zone between war and peace," and they are committed to using technology as a weapon in this perceived conflict. This techno-nationalist agenda has found support from both Democrats and Republicans, with lawmakers like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Cory Booker attending the group's events.

The View:

The concerning level of bipartisan, bicoastal consensus between Washington and Silicon Valley could lead to "groupthink," where potential alternative solutions to addressing the China-U.S. relationship are not explored. This convergence between the tech and defense industries, as well as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, on the "national security imperatives of new technologies" raises the specter of a narrow and entrenched perspective that stifles diverse viewpoints and viable solutions.

However, the "end state" of this technological decoupling from China is unclear, as American companies are still operating in China and could be caught in the crossfire. This ambiguity raises concerns about the potential unintended consequences of the group's actions and their impact on the broader economic and geopolitical landscape.

The group's use of "doomsday-ing" and "political theater" to drive their agenda is a troubling tactic that undermines genuine efforts to address pressing issuesAs the group shifts its focus to artificial intelligence, the American public must remain vigilant and scrutinize their actions closely. The stakes are high, and the potential for the group to cement their influence and shape the future of AI in a way that benefits their own interests is a real and pressing concern.

TLDR:

A powerful group of tech moguls, defense contractors, and lawmakers have formed an influential lobbying force in Washington, pushing a nationalist, anti-China agenda.
This coalition, led by figures like Jacob Helberg and backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, was instrumental in the effort to ban TikTok in the U.S., casting the app as a "weapon of war" of the Chinese Communist Party. - Emboldened by their TikTok victory, the group is now setting its sights on shaping the future of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, seeking to dismantle the Biden administration's rules and steer government funding toward their own technologies.
They argue that the U.S. is engaged in a "gray war" with China and that the country's technological supremacy is a matter of national security, justifying their self-serving policies.
However, critics warn that this techno-nationalist alliance risks creating a dangerous "groupthink" mentality, stifling alternative perspectives and distracting from more pressing issues like properly funding critical government agencies.
The convergence of Silicon Valley and Washington on the "China threat" narrative has led to a bipartisan, bicoastal consensus, but some fear it could blind both sides to the complexities of the U.S.-China relationship and the potential consequences of their actions.

Insights From:

Meet the powerful tech insiders behind the push to ban TikTok - The Washington Post

U.S. TikTok Ban: China Hawks in Congress and Silicon Valley Converge - Foreign Policy