4 ms·

Given Sam Altman's recent statements, will pro-Trump founders be discriminated against?

sparkzilla 10y ago
It doesn't matter anyway. Even though I am building a social news search engine that aims to minimise bias and eliminates fake news, given @sama's statements I don't think there will a culture fit. So I'm not going to apply this time, or ever again.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  > given @sama's statements I don't think there will a culture fit Could you summarise those differences?
  - sparkzilla 10y ago
    There are several issues, which overlap 1) Credibility: Altman's call to fix the fake new problem is ironic, because Altman's most recent statement [1] propagates the very fake news he decries. For example he refers to Trump's travel executive order as a "Muslim ban" and bases his thoughts on that false premise. 2) Woolly thinking: His statement that "most of them [Trump voters] voted for him for reasons other than the promise of a Muslim ban," is not only false because it's not a Muslim ban, but false because increasing security at the border was one of the main reasons they actually did vote for him, and the actions Trump has taken have high approval from his followers. 3) Being a smug liberal: See point 2. The idea that Trump voters are misled fools is a common theme of liberals. Altman is determined to try to show Trump supporters the error of their ways instead of making any attempt to understand their concerns. It's useful to note at this point that Trump flipped states that had been previously held by Obama. 4) Hypocrisy: Where was Altman when Obama was actually bombing Muslims? I know where he was -- organising a YC fundraiser for Obama [2] 5) Hyperbolic: I'm all for reasoned arguments, but his previous post [3] bordered on hysteria, saying Trump is "irresponsible in the way dictators are" and making outlandish comparisons to Hitler. 5) Poor business decision: It's surprising that Altman would damage his business by creating a culture of intolerance for founders who have political views from him. How must Trump supporting founders, employees and investors inside YC and beyond feel when Altman claims the moral high ground? 6) Emotional: When emotion takes over business, business fails. 7) Evasion: Despite numerous requests Altman has not clarified his position regarding the status of pro-Trump founders. Put all of these together and I just lost respect. I thought he was smarter. And I certainly I don't feel the need to justify my support for Trump to any investor. So, no, I don't think there's a culture fit. [1] http://blog.samaltman.com/time-to-take-a-stand http://blog.samaltman.com/time-to-take-a-stand [2] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2014/05/obama-fundraises-tech-stars-hollywood http://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2014/05/obama-fundra... [3] http://blog.samaltman.com/trump http://blog.samaltman.com/trump

It doesn't matter anyway. Even though I am building a social news search engine that aims to minimise bias and eliminates fake news, given @sama's statements I don't think there will a culture fit. So I'm not going to apply this time, or ever again.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
> given @sama's statements I don't think there will a culture fit Could you summarise those differences?
- sparkzilla 10y ago
  There are several issues, which overlap 1) Credibility: Altman's call to fix the fake new problem is ironic, because Altman's most recent statement [1] propagates the very fake news he decries. For example he refers to Trump's travel executive order as a "Muslim ban" and bases his thoughts on that false premise. 2) Woolly thinking: His statement that "most of them [Trump voters] voted for him for reasons other than the promise of a Muslim ban," is not only false because it's not a Muslim ban, but false because increasing security at the border was one of the main reasons they actually did vote for him, and the actions Trump has taken have high approval from his followers. 3) Being a smug liberal: See point 2. The idea that Trump voters are misled fools is a common theme of liberals. Altman is determined to try to show Trump supporters the error of their ways instead of making any attempt to understand their concerns. It's useful to note at this point that Trump flipped states that had been previously held by Obama. 4) Hypocrisy: Where was Altman when Obama was actually bombing Muslims? I know where he was -- organising a YC fundraiser for Obama [2] 5) Hyperbolic: I'm all for reasoned arguments, but his previous post [3] bordered on hysteria, saying Trump is "irresponsible in the way dictators are" and making outlandish comparisons to Hitler. 5) Poor business decision: It's surprising that Altman would damage his business by creating a culture of intolerance for founders who have political views from him. How must Trump supporting founders, employees and investors inside YC and beyond feel when Altman claims the moral high ground? 6) Emotional: When emotion takes over business, business fails. 7) Evasion: Despite numerous requests Altman has not clarified his position regarding the status of pro-Trump founders. Put all of these together and I just lost respect. I thought he was smarter. And I certainly I don't feel the need to justify my support for Trump to any investor. So, no, I don't think there's a culture fit. [1] http://blog.samaltman.com/time-to-take-a-stand http://blog.samaltman.com/time-to-take-a-stand [2] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2014/05/obama-fundraises-tech-stars-hollywood http://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2014/05/obama-fundra... [3] http://blog.samaltman.com/trump http://blog.samaltman.com/trump