8 ms·

I don't know about you, but I'm very thankful that we have a president that can understand and intelligently talk about these issues (rather than thinking it's

I don't know about you, but I'm very thankful that we have a president that can understand and intelligently talk about these issues (rather than thinking it's all just black magic).

AJRF 10y ago
It was a lot of waffle, with the odd buzzword interspersed. I don't mind Obama, but I do mind when people attribute understanding to him when he talks at an extremely thin level about topics.
- ap22213 10y ago
  Many forget that 8 years ago Obama was highly criticized for being a 'technocrat' and populating his cabinet with 'technologist' outsiders. Leaders don't always have to understand the tactical details that are required for executing their strategy. Obama led as a technologist from day one.
  - marcoperaza 10y ago
    Except that's not what happened. There was a lot of speculation that it would, but then he appointed a bunch of politicians to the cabinet, as is tradition.
    - ap22213 10y ago
      I agree. But, I'd also argue that if he hadn't had the ongoing wars, recession, and hostile congress to deal with then lots would have happened.
      - marcoperaza 10y ago
        Could've, would've, should've. Let's look at the one area where he had almost total discretion, foreign policy and national security. There's not much to speak of in terms of success there. Not only did he fail to advance the interests of the US, he also failed to deliver on progressive promises of scaling back the surveillance state. The recent shenanigans with Russia are incredibly telling. Perhaps you remember in 2012 how Obama and his surrogates viciously mocked Romney for claiming that Russia was the biggest geopolitical threat faced by the US. Obama was caught on tape telling the Russians he could be "more flexible after the election". They took his flexibility and marched right into Ukraine with it. They took Obama's cancellation of a European missile defense shield, and reciprocated by positioning nukes on the border. They saw Obama's incoherent Middle East strategy, and took the Iranian-Syrian-Russian bloc to new heights. Now, they're apparently hacking our election infrastructure and have released incredibly embarrassing emails about the corrupt machinery of Obama's chosen successor. The humiliation is total. Obama owes Mitt Romney an apology. There's another recent President who faced a hostile Congress, Bill Clinton. He was able to achieve a lot by being willing to compromise.
        ap22213 10y ago
        What's any of that have to do with pushing technology, though?
        marcoperaza 10y ago
        My point is that I don't buy the excuses. Obama is a good tactician, his masterful campaign and propaganda machine are proof of that, but he's clearly not an effective strategic leader.
    - justin66 10y ago
      His Secretaries of Energy were scientists, including a Nobel prize winner. Rather than being an example of a President ignoring technology, Chu's appointment seems like a pretty good example of how little difference paying attention to this stuff at the cabinet level really makes when Congress is still populated by a bunch of troglodytes.
ams6110 10y ago
I was wondering why the authors would chose to interview someone with no particular credentials or expertise in the subject.
- inimino 10y ago
  What's "the subject"? I'm not sure if you are being sarcatic, but: “ITO: I feel like this is the year that artificial intelligence becomes more than just a computer science problem. [...] the question is, how do we build societal values into AI?” The point is that the subject is far broader than the CS department. If you think Obama doesn't have relevant expertise, your view of the subject is too narrow.
- bduerst 10y ago
  He signs-into-law or vetoes legislature affecting public policy and economics. I think it's a stretch to say he has "no particular credentials" or understanding of technological trends.
mc32 10y ago
We could have had Al Gore, but for Floridians, I mean the guy created the information superhighway --that's up there with the Tim Berners-Lee kind of stratum. On the other hand, had he won, Obama would not have become president because we would not have had to "react" to the Bush years.
- benchaney 10y ago
  "We could have had Al Gore, but for Floridians, I mean the guy created the information superhighway --that's up there with the Tim Berners-Lee kind of stratum." Please tell me this is a joke.
  - mc32 10y ago
    It is, I thought it would be evident. Never the less, he wasn't a tech slouch, specially for a politician [and for the time he advanced his beliefs in tech]. To wit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore_and_information_technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore_and_information_techno...
    - dionidium 10y ago
      This is covered on that Wikipedia page, but for those maybe too young to remember, Al Gore's supposed claim to have invented the internet was widely joked about in the late 90s. From the article: "After this interview, Gore became the subject of controversy and ridicule when his statement "I took the initiative in creating the Internet"[53] was widely quoted out of context. It was often misquoted by comedians and figures in American popular media who framed this statement as a claim that Gore believed he had personally invented the Internet.[54] Gore's actual words, however, were widely reaffirmed by notable Internet pioneers, such as Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, who stated, "No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President.""
  - _andromeda_ 10y ago
    I too hope that this is a joke, '...created the information superhighway'. I blame the education system for this kind of thinking. It is so heavily influenced by big government to the point that many people have come to believe that demagogues actually have a role in the advancement of civilization. These folks (demagogues) really should get real jobs. They are mostly good at production of words instead of production of goods & services or like Hans-Herman Hoppe likes to say, "Government specializes in the production of 'bads'". I'd like to recommend his book - Democracy, The god that failed.
random_upvoter 10y ago
Waffling vaguely about grand ideas has always been Obama's greatest skill. It's what got him in the White House in the first place.
- enraged_camel 10y ago
  He has to "waffle vaguely" about grand ideas when addressing the whole nation because going into details would alienate most of his audience. This doesn't mean he doesn't know what he is talking about, as you seem to be implying (I don't want to read too much into your comment).
downandout 10y ago
I'm curious...which President are you saying thought it was "all just black magic"? Let's also remember that Obama is the man that unapologetically expanded covert/illegal surveillance programs to an unprecedented scale, directly costing American technology companies billions of dollars in sales. I'd say his actions reflect neither intelligence nor understanding of the tech industry.
- kweinber 10y ago
  George W Bush proudly didn't use email and called the Internet the "Internets". Pretty big difference.
  - drcross 10y ago
    He left office 8 years ago, things have changed in that time. I also refer to the internet as the internets sometimes too. Why would the most powerful person in the world need to use email anyway?
    - icholy 10y ago
      "I was elected to lead, not to read"
      - erikpukinskis 10y ago
        Bush is probably at the very top of the 99th percentile in terms of readers. He reads a book+ a week.
- lsadam0 10y ago
  One of the two major candidates for president responds to tech focused questions with some ramblings about 'the cyber part of security' being impossible and how good his ten year old son is with a computer. That's quite the contrast against someone like Obama.
  - boona 10y ago
marcoperaza 10y ago
This is just hollow legacy-chasing. Just like how he crippled the space program during his 8 years in office, only to discover a passion for it in the last few days.
- _andromeda_ 10y ago
  I agree 100% with the hollow legacy-chasing you're talking about. Please do elaborate more on how he's crippled the space program. If you were to ask me, I'd recommend not having government involvement in such things anyway.
  - marcoperaza 10y ago
    I do think that there is a long-term security interest for the human race in populating other planets with self-sufficient colonies that could survive natural disasters on Earth. But I'm not really informed enough of the economics of space exploration to have a firm opinion about what the government's role is, though I agree that it should be as small as possible. What I do know is that he's suddenly talking a big game about public/private partnerships for Mars when he undermined the previous public program, and with very convenient timing so that he won't be responsible for any of the tough decisions. It's also seems like he's trying to steal some headlines away from SpaceX and Boeing and make sure that the public sector, which he idolizes so much, doesn't look impotent by comparison.
    - ahartman00 10y ago
      I think it might have had something to do with the recession. Now that the economy is improving, it is a better time for such things, imo. I applaud your long term thinking, but the short term is important, especially for those worried about their jobs.
mslkmdf 10y ago
Why are you thankful for that? Does he add anything useful? Does his talking about these imply anything about his work as a president?
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
whamlastxmas 10y ago
Maybe I'm overly cynical, but I feel like a lot of the tech talks Obama gives are heavily scripted and he doesn't understand everything he's saying. He once made a joke about sorting algorithms, and I find it super hard to believe that someone who's never programmed before (outside of publicity stunts) would be capable of doing that. However, I guess props are due for the effort even if he doesn't personally understand all of it.

I don't know about you, but I'm very thankful that we have a president that can understand and intelligently talk about these issues (rather than thinking it's all just black magic).

AJRF 10y ago

It was a lot of waffle, with the odd buzzword interspersed. I don't mind Obama, but I do mind when people attribute understanding to him when he talks at an extremely thin level about topics.

ap22213 10y ago
Many forget that 8 years ago Obama was highly criticized for being a 'technocrat' and populating his cabinet with 'technologist' outsiders. Leaders don't always have to understand the tactical details that are required for executing their strategy. Obama led as a technologist from day one.
- marcoperaza 10y ago
  Except that's not what happened. There was a lot of speculation that it would, but then he appointed a bunch of politicians to the cabinet, as is tradition.
  - ap22213 10y ago
    I agree. But, I'd also argue that if he hadn't had the ongoing wars, recession, and hostile congress to deal with then lots would have happened.
    - marcoperaza 10y ago
      Could've, would've, should've. Let's look at the one area where he had almost total discretion, foreign policy and national security. There's not much to speak of in terms of success there. Not only did he fail to advance the interests of the US, he also failed to deliver on progressive promises of scaling back the surveillance state. The recent shenanigans with Russia are incredibly telling. Perhaps you remember in 2012 how Obama and his surrogates viciously mocked Romney for claiming that Russia was the biggest geopolitical threat faced by the US. Obama was caught on tape telling the Russians he could be "more flexible after the election". They took his flexibility and marched right into Ukraine with it. They took Obama's cancellation of a European missile defense shield, and reciprocated by positioning nukes on the border. They saw Obama's incoherent Middle East strategy, and took the Iranian-Syrian-Russian bloc to new heights. Now, they're apparently hacking our election infrastructure and have released incredibly embarrassing emails about the corrupt machinery of Obama's chosen successor. The humiliation is total. Obama owes Mitt Romney an apology. There's another recent President who faced a hostile Congress, Bill Clinton. He was able to achieve a lot by being willing to compromise.
      - ap22213 10y ago
        What's any of that have to do with pushing technology, though?
        marcoperaza 10y ago
        My point is that I don't buy the excuses. Obama is a good tactician, his masterful campaign and propaganda machine are proof of that, but he's clearly not an effective strategic leader.
  - justin66 10y ago
    His Secretaries of Energy were scientists, including a Nobel prize winner. Rather than being an example of a President ignoring technology, Chu's appointment seems like a pretty good example of how little difference paying attention to this stuff at the cabinet level really makes when Congress is still populated by a bunch of troglodytes.

ams6110 10y ago

I was wondering why the authors would chose to interview someone with no particular credentials or expertise in the subject.

inimino 10y ago
What's "the subject"? I'm not sure if you are being sarcatic, but: “ITO: I feel like this is the year that artificial intelligence becomes more than just a computer science problem. [...] the question is, how do we build societal values into AI?” The point is that the subject is far broader than the CS department. If you think Obama doesn't have relevant expertise, your view of the subject is too narrow.
bduerst 10y ago
He signs-into-law or vetoes legislature affecting public policy and economics. I think it's a stretch to say he has "no particular credentials" or understanding of technological trends.

mc32 10y ago

We could have had Al Gore, but for Floridians, I mean the guy created the information superhighway --that's up there with the Tim Berners-Lee kind of stratum. On the other hand, had he won, Obama would not have become president because we would not have had to "react" to the Bush years.

benchaney 10y ago
"We could have had Al Gore, but for Floridians, I mean the guy created the information superhighway --that's up there with the Tim Berners-Lee kind of stratum." Please tell me this is a joke.
- mc32 10y ago
  It is, I thought it would be evident. Never the less, he wasn't a tech slouch, specially for a politician [and for the time he advanced his beliefs in tech]. To wit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore_and_information_technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore_and_information_techno...
  - dionidium 10y ago
    This is covered on that Wikipedia page, but for those maybe too young to remember, Al Gore's supposed claim to have invented the internet was widely joked about in the late 90s. From the article: "After this interview, Gore became the subject of controversy and ridicule when his statement "I took the initiative in creating the Internet"[53] was widely quoted out of context. It was often misquoted by comedians and figures in American popular media who framed this statement as a claim that Gore believed he had personally invented the Internet.[54] Gore's actual words, however, were widely reaffirmed by notable Internet pioneers, such as Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, who stated, "No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President.""
- _andromeda_ 10y ago
  I too hope that this is a joke, '...created the information superhighway'. I blame the education system for this kind of thinking. It is so heavily influenced by big government to the point that many people have come to believe that demagogues actually have a role in the advancement of civilization. These folks (demagogues) really should get real jobs. They are mostly good at production of words instead of production of goods & services or like Hans-Herman Hoppe likes to say, "Government specializes in the production of 'bads'". I'd like to recommend his book - Democracy, The god that failed.

random_upvoter 10y ago

Waffling vaguely about grand ideas has always been Obama's greatest skill. It's what got him in the White House in the first place.

enraged_camel 10y ago
He has to "waffle vaguely" about grand ideas when addressing the whole nation because going into details would alienate most of his audience. This doesn't mean he doesn't know what he is talking about, as you seem to be implying (I don't want to read too much into your comment).

downandout 10y ago

I'm curious...which President are you saying thought it was "all just black magic"? Let's also remember that Obama is the man that unapologetically expanded covert/illegal surveillance programs to an unprecedented scale, directly costing American technology companies billions of dollars in sales. I'd say his actions reflect neither intelligence nor understanding of the tech industry.

kweinber 10y ago
George W Bush proudly didn't use email and called the Internet the "Internets". Pretty big difference.
- drcross 10y ago
  He left office 8 years ago, things have changed in that time. I also refer to the internet as the internets sometimes too. Why would the most powerful person in the world need to use email anyway?
  - icholy 10y ago
    "I was elected to lead, not to read"
    - erikpukinskis 10y ago
      Bush is probably at the very top of the 99th percentile in terms of readers. He reads a book+ a week.
lsadam0 10y ago
One of the two major candidates for president responds to tech focused questions with some ramblings about 'the cyber part of security' being impossible and how good his ten year old son is with a computer. That's quite the contrast against someone like Obama.
- boona 10y ago

marcoperaza 10y ago

This is just hollow legacy-chasing. Just like how he crippled the space program during his 8 years in office, only to discover a passion for it in the last few days.

_andromeda_ 10y ago
I agree 100% with the hollow legacy-chasing you're talking about. Please do elaborate more on how he's crippled the space program. If you were to ask me, I'd recommend not having government involvement in such things anyway.
- marcoperaza 10y ago
  I do think that there is a long-term security interest for the human race in populating other planets with self-sufficient colonies that could survive natural disasters on Earth. But I'm not really informed enough of the economics of space exploration to have a firm opinion about what the government's role is, though I agree that it should be as small as possible. What I do know is that he's suddenly talking a big game about public/private partnerships for Mars when he undermined the previous public program, and with very convenient timing so that he won't be responsible for any of the tough decisions. It's also seems like he's trying to steal some headlines away from SpaceX and Boeing and make sure that the public sector, which he idolizes so much, doesn't look impotent by comparison.
  - ahartman00 10y ago
    I think it might have had something to do with the recession. Now that the economy is improving, it is a better time for such things, imo. I applaud your long term thinking, but the short term is important, especially for those worried about their jobs.

mslkmdf 10y ago

Why are you thankful for that? Does he add anything useful? Does his talking about these imply anything about his work as a president?

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

whamlastxmas 10y ago

Maybe I'm overly cynical, but I feel like a lot of the tech talks Obama gives are heavily scripted and he doesn't understand everything he's saying. He once made a joke about sorting algorithms, and I find it super hard to believe that someone who's never programmed before (outside of publicity stunts) would be capable of doing that. However, I guess props are due for the effort even if he doesn't personally understand all of it.