How did the Democrats Lose Silicon Valley? Should They Try to Get it Back?

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the Institute of Politics invite you to a discussion on How did the Democrats Lose Silicon Valley, examining Big Tech’s changing political dynamics.

In 2011, President Obama asked how government could help Silicon Valley and nearly all of theseemed to back Democrats. But by the beginning of Trump’s second term, many powerful Silicon Valley elites — such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — had moved away from the Democratic Party, while others such as Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Marc Andreessen strongly support President Trump and the MAGA movement. With their backing came not only massive funding for political causes, but also greater control over both traditional and digital media platforms. Can the Democratic Party succeed with some of the largest companies on earth opposed to it? Could the Democrats have preserved their alliance with Silicon Valley by, for example, adopting an “abundance” agenda and moderating its regulatory and anti-monopolist ambitions? Or, are “accelerationist” and other ideological commitments of these Silicon Valley elites incompatible with core Democratic Party principles? In this discussion, Archon Fung will moderate a conversation with Van Jones about the past and future relationship of democracy to US technology elites.

• 4:00–5:00 PM EDT – Public Online Webinar
  A one-hour webinar with Van Jones, moderated by Archon Fung. This portion of the event is open to the public online and will also be livestreamed in the Ash Center Seminar Room 225 for Harvard ID holders.
• 5:00–6:00 PM EDT – In-Person Debrief (Harvard ID holders only)
  Following the public webinar, Harvard ID holders attending in person are invited to stay for a debrief and discussion led by Archon Fung. Pizza will be served.

Speakers:

• Van Jones, CNN Host; Founder of DreamMachine.org and RAPPORT.co
• Archon Fung (Moderator), Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

This event is co-sponsored by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Event Details

The in-person event is open to Harvard ID holders only and registration is required.

The Ash Center encourages individuals with disabilities to participate in its events. Should you wish to inquire about an accommodation, please contact our events team at info@ash.harvard.edu prior to the event.

Additional questions? Email the Ash Center events team at info@ash.harvard.edu.