For the rest of us, not so much…

There were two big stories in tech this past week, neither of which is good news for startups. It’s also difficult to rate which of them is the lesser of two evils.

First came the announcement that OpenAI’s Sam Altman and other tech leaders join the federal AI safety board, and as Engadget put it so correctly, “It’s like turkeys being appointed to the Christmas (or Thanksgiving) oversight board. “Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai are joining the government’s Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, according to The Wall Street Journal. They’re also joined by Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Northrop Grumman’s Kathy Warden and Delta’s Ed Bastian, along with other leaders in the tech and AI industry. The AI board will be working with and advising the Department of Homeland Security on how it can safely deploy AI within the country’s critical infrastructure. They’re also tasked with conjuring recommendations for power grid operators, transportation service providers and manufacturing plants on how they can protect their systems against potential threats that could be brought about by advances in the technology.”

It’s akin to Facebook policing itself during the age of social (which they were charged with doing, again, by those brilliant guardians of public safety and privacy right: our elected officials), and as we witnessed, nothing went wrong there.

“ one can’t help but question if these AI tech leaders can provide guidance that aren’t meant to primarily serve themselves and their companies. Their work centers around advancing AI technologies and promoting their use, after all, while the board is meant to ensure that critical infrastructure systems are using AI responsibly.”

And which sector is inhaling most of the electrical power these days?

Clearly no conflict of interest there.

“I met personally with Sam and his team at OpenAI’s headquarters. Sam reflected a clear and deep understanding of the implications of implementing AI in our nation’s critical infrastructure,”said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, MSN reported, and we’ll try not to comment on his record when it comes to physical homeland security.

Next up, in case you missed it, FCC votes to restore net neutrality, said Reuters. “The agency voted to reclassify internet service providers under Title II of the Communications Act but says it doesn’t plan to regulate prices.”

“The vote reinstates protections established in 2015 that treat broadband as a utility…that means all internet traffic must be treated equally. Your internet service provider won’t be able to do things like slow down or speed up your favorite websites based on whether those sites pay extra money to prioritize their traffic,” said c|net. Note to self: that never happened once net neutrality was reversed. As we reported back in 2019 (Was Net Neutrality Truly Neutral? Here’s the Score Card), “Under Net Neutrality, 2016 IPOs Hit Lowest Count Since 2009

“The number of acquisitions Google made under Net Neutrality was much higher than after it was reversed.

“Facebook also made many more acquisitions than there were IPOs during that period. Same with Amazon, especially in sectors where the company looked to expand its footprint, including hardware, home services, financial services and cloud.

“2013 – pre Net Neutrality – was a Blockbuster Year For IPOs: 218 IPOs And Beyond, according to Seeking Alpha.”

Oh, and in case you missed it, with the reversal of Net Neutrality in 2017, we haven’t witnessed “blocking or slowing down of internet traffic” by ISPs.

So, how did this happen and what’s really going on?

Aside from the fact that elected officials aren’t necessarily the smartest guys in the room, to put it mildly.

Well, Big Tech Lobbyists Explain How They Took Over Washington “An amazing research paper unearths how the tech industry invented the concept of digital trade and sold it to government officials,” American Prospect reported. “It’s a powerful example of how corporate America quietly bends official Washington toward its will. And we know exactly how the lobbyists did it, because they told the researcher.”

And if any sector is capable of this, it’s tech. Look at how easily they convinced people to give up every aspect of their privacy, insisting that it was all about making our lives easier – and lulling us into utter complacency. Case in point: the light-speed adoption of LLMs, despite the hallucinations and with no thought at all given to the possible negative effects it might have.

And how long have Big Tech companies and key government employees been playing musical chairs, with the latter being hired away by big tech companies after learning the ropes – and gaining influence – in government circles?

Finally, how is the reversal of net neutrality good news for consumers, as FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at (a) commission meeting, according to c|net? All things considered, re net neutrality’s history, it certainly isn’t a good day for startups, or innovation, for that matter.

We are sure that these two events didn’t happen in a vacuum, and considering that Altman’s OpenAI started as a not-for-profit, then pivoted – quickly – once the traction and the big bucks rolled in, what would possibly indicate that he can be trusted? No, these two events happened in tandem.

And Big Tech just potentially became even more dangerous.

Calling either a wolf in sheep’s clothing is a clear underestimation. Looking at this with both eyes open, make no mistake about it: it’s nothing less than naked power grab, or worse, pure and simple. Onward and forward.