The Dichotomy of Silicon Valley
Tags: Big Tech, Startup, Society And Culture, Silicon Valley, Technology Trends

The Dichotomy of Silicon Valley

“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

― J. Krishnamurti sumarius Jul 15·6 min read

Over the past ten years, Silicon Valley has infamously been a dreamer’s haven. A place where seemingly impossible ideas came to life in a matter of years or even months. Anyone could do it, all it took was an idea, a laptop, a strong belief and a shabby chic living room to affect change and disrupt an industry. Everyone, investors and employees alike, put their time and money to get in early and be a part of the next Google. Millions of dollars were invested in silly apps like Yo, only to disappear without a trace after a few months. Movies like the internship only cemented what a capitalist fairytale would look like to an average middle class parent. Why focus on reality when the promise of a unicorn exists?

We fell for this fantasy too. As young graduates, we weren’t interested in the ugly truth of life. We were more than willing to shell out half of our paycheck to live in a tiny 1 bedroom for a chance at this modern roulette. The allure of becoming a visionary is what got us hooked on Silicon Valley. We idolized leaders like Steve Jobs who convinced the market that they needed a smartphone and in doing that, completely changed the tech landscape. He got ‘it’ while the old suits didn’t. We loved him for his defiance to authority and the status quo. We were not the only ones who put him up on a pedestal. Silicon Valley built a mythology around his story and elevated the template that Jobs created.

The public was hungry for a narrative like this in the late 2000s. The country had just experienced the worst man-made financial crisis and people were losing trust in the financial system. Greed was aspirational in the 90s but the 2010s needed a heart. Silicon Valley presented that change. Companies were focused on changing the world and making it a better place to live. ‘Do no evil’, proclaimed the biggest giant in sharp contrast to Wall Street’s “Greed is good”.

Ten years later, the valley has lost some of its luster. The honeymoon period is coming to a close and we are now faced with having to make the marriage work. Interestingly, the pundits have been crying for the end of Silicon Valley for a while now but the party never seems to end even if the party goers are burned out, sick and addicted to substances. How did the valley sell us on the promise of a unicorn? As longtime residents, we can shed some light on the strange addiction and the dichotomy that exists.

Health vs wealth — the allure of an exit

We came to Silicon Valley and joined a hyper-growth startup. We immediately started spending 80+ hours a week delivering on key asks. However, despite the long hours, the work was fun and the chaos was addictive. We were no longer in a boring, corporate job. We had a chance to be a part of the next big IPO, a badge of honor in the Valley. The crazy hours were reinforced by rewards. At the end of the quarter, we learned how much closer the company was to raising the next round of funding while glossing over or omitting challenges the company faced in growth.

The effects of it, we left our health at the altar for the greater good, not of society but that of the company we work for. We put in crazy hours hoping for a payout and ignored the effects of the mounting stress on our mental and physical health. For example, waking up every morning to a veggie smoothie and a run and ending the night with four drinks after a long, stressful work day. Ultimately, we made choices to superficially take care of our health while, in parallel, ruining it — in other words, living our lives as a dichotomy.

The Infantilized Engineer

It is hard to distinguish Google’s campus from a nursery for grown ups. Employees are treated like children in the Valley with a fun office and exciting toys to engage our creativity but much like children, it also meant painting the world around us in the most positive, simplistic light — hiding problems from us. Let’s examine the ever increasing presence of the so-called listening parties — a modern way for the big bosses to pacify their employees. Everyone gets a chance to air their grievances and be heard. You can almost be convinced that companies care about our concerns and well-being up until when it actually matters.

In reality, this is just to protect the company’s interest. With all the PR efforts to promote women in technology, Google protected and paid Andy Rubin after sexual conduct allegations. From a business perspective, it made sense. The victim (a woman) in question was not a key hire. A town-hall was organized to soothe the anger. The employees were heard. Everyone promptly moved on to the next hot topic like children on their best behavior.

Nothing about this is particularly surprising. There is something cathartic about airing out concerns to an authority figure. Many religions have formal rituals surrounding this activity. It makes us feel like we are solving the problem. That illusion of progress is addictive even if it is just an illusion. What we forget to focus on is whether there is follow through.

The promise of changing the world

Millennials joined the workforce around the 2008 crisis when there was mounting criticism of Wall Street. Silicon Valley smartly marketed itself as the protagonist to the next generation of dreamers.

The valley felt like a place to achieve a higher level of consciousness. Rather than a stoic industry with a lot of red tape, we got to be part of something that was constantly at the brink of innovation. The novel business model of online advertisements made information free and abundant. The ever changing twitter feed made the morning newspaper obsolete. Nobody cared about what you wore or what car you drove because people were busy working on more impactful projects that were solving real problems.

This mindset continues to permeate the fabric of Silicon Valley to this day. There is still chatter on how we are morally superior to Wall Street. When faced with criticism, we remind the detractors that we freed the world’s information and birthed the iPhone.

We refuse to face the reality that we are hitting the messy and complicated part of human nature. Integrating technology with the more sacred aspects of humanity requires careful consideration of its impact on the community — the antithesis of the “move fast and break things” philosophy that worked so well for many years. As an industry, we shy away from answering these difficult questions because the nuanced challenges we are facing cannot be disrupted with a neat algorithm. Or maybe because it conflicts with the ability to make money quickly. The dichotomy of Silicon Valley is people are unwilling to see through the bullshit when it is coated in gold just like our Wall Street brethren.

Conclusion

Money and success have changed what the valley is but as an industry, we continue to perpetuate a vision of utopia. Employees compromise every aspect of their lives in hopes of hitting the jackpot — a successful exit or stumbling on the next Google. Companies prey on idealistic graduates by promising a chance to change the world for the better. In reality, the social good initiatives are often just PR stunts. As an industry, we continue to market our contributions to humanity. However, when faced with real decisions we shy away from taking any meaningful steps under the pretense of being just a technology platform.

Silicon Valley is not dead. It has afforded companies the chance to push boundaries and question norms for so many years. There is an immense amount of novel ideas, talent to execute on these ideas and money to fund these ideas. However, we must learn to separate fact from fiction. It’s time to realize that a horse painted white with a horn is not a unicorn.