To say we live in a tech-centric society is an understatement.
Software, specifically machine learning and AI, coupled with advanced manufacturing, have delivered technology to street corners, schools, offices, factories, and even farm fields. This tech, much of it created in Silicon Valley, sits on your wrist, is carried in your pocket, is integrated in the movies you watch, and maybe in the music you listen to. And it is certainly the means by which that Amazon package was ordered, sorted, and delivered to your doorstep.
It has turned their founders, executives, and middle managers into king-like figures, whose wealth and political influence mirrors the Gilded Age. Seven of the top 10 richest people in the world can tie their wealth directly to tech. Amazon co-founder, chairman, and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is third, behind just Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and serial entrepreneur Elon Musk, according to Forbes, which tracks wealth and the people who have it. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer round out the list.
Now, in this moment, the Bezos-owned Washington Post has gutted its coverage of them and the tech industry at large as part of a sweeping set of layoffs that affected more than 300 people. The team that includes tech, science, health and business was cut by more than half — from 80 to 33 people — according to Post tech reporter Drew Harwell. The tech desk alone cut 14 people. Its San Francisco bureau is a s …