Dispensing with the tech bros

As I type this, Trump is threatening tariffs on anyone who challenges the interests of America’s technology oligarchs, all of whom are now paying obeisance at this court. Technology is the US biggest weapon against the free world of which it was formerly part, and the right place to fight back. But what can be done?

I’ll start with the most straightforward case. X should be banned outright, for precisely the reasons that the US Congress tried to ban TikTok, and for its general evil and toxicity. We already have alternatives in Bluesky and, more appealingly, the Fediverse. An important additional step would be the establishment of an official platform, open only to legitimate public and non-profit organisations for the kinds of public service functions that have migrated to X, and also to Facebook – weather alerts would be an obvious example.

For the moment, this should be a bargaining chip. It should be made clear that, if Starlink support is withdrawn from Ukraine, or extended to Russia (beyond its current illegal use), both X and Starlink will be blocked by all free countries. Brazil did this a while ago and Musk backed down.

This will presumably trigger tariff threats from Trump. Again the appropriate response isn’t symbolic goods like Jack Daniels, it’s further retaliation against US tech, including limits on intellectual property prohibition of chips that allow remote bricking and so on.

At the extreme end of the difficulty spectrum, it seems impossible to erode US dominance in computer and smartphone operating systems and software. Apple, Google and Microsoft have nearly the entire market. The only serious alternative, Linux, is tiny in comparison. I’d be happy to hear suggestions of possible responses.

Between these two are a range of activities, such as cloud computing and web services, where the US holds a dominant position that may take time to erode.

Finally, and particularly relevant to current crises, the free world needs its own AI program. Deepseek has shown that the resources required are modest. Moreover, there has never been a better chance to recruit US tech talent. With the job cuts made by the big tech companies, and Trump’s decrees denying the existence of whole categories of people, and the full humanity of anyone other than white males, there will be plenty eager to start a new life in a free country.