Chatham House
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Silicon Valley’s national security pivot will only accelerate under the new Trump administration
EXPERT COMMENT
The political ascendancy of Elon Musk and others like him will likely draw Silicon Valley and the Pentagon even closer – a trend that may profoundly impact technology development and further entrench the power of ‘big tech’.
Silicon Valley’s roots lie firmly in the military-industrial complex: the internet was initially the product of military funding. But that symbiotic relationship began to wane after the Cold War, as the focus for development turned to commercial applications. Bureaucratic Department of Defense procurement processes did not mesh well with the Silicon Valley ethos of ‘go fast and break things’ and few tech workers had the appetite to work on weapon systems.
This has started to change in the past few years. Rising geopolitical tensions, a slowdown in traditional venture capital investment, and the increased battlefield significance of off-the-shelf, commercial technologies such as FPV drones and Musk’s Starlink, have made chasing defence contracts more appealing for tech companies large and small.
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Original article link: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/11/silicon-valleys-national-security-pivot-will-only-accelerate-under-new-trump-administration
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