> The religion of the engineers is the hopium of Silicon Valley elites. It’s less a complex theology than an eschatological soporific, a prosperity gospel for venture capitalists, founders and wannabes. It tells its votaries that profits and progress point in exactly the same direction, and that by doing well they will most certainly do good.
It's simpler and much less naive than that: Everything about the 'religion' results in the SV powers getting more power and wealth. It's just plain selfishness taken to an extreme, just greed and megalomania. Remember 'effective altruism', which somehow led to the same conclusion - I should get more money and power.
These are very capable people. It's corrupt for them to lower themselves to such brazen deceit - including to themselves - and continue to hold power and wealth (and such corruption is a demonstration of power - 'I can do it, and there's nothing you can do to stop me'). SV arose in part due to the corruption of older industry; SV embraced merit and the belief that anyone could achieve anything.
Now SV is the corrupt, entrenched status quo; what will disrupt it? Will or can that succeed by using SV's tools, such as social media and AI?
