8 ms·

I'm not an idealist over here, but It's really weird to me that when he looks at all of the US government's tech problems, he singles out the military as the pa

I'm not an idealist over here, but It's really weird to me that when he looks at all of the US government's tech problems, he singles out the military as the part that it is really important to improve. But I guess it doesn't satisfy his ego to try and ensure the IRS' website works properly when addresses don't work unless they're all upper case.

Armisael16 6y ago
The DoD is also the single largest conglomeration of systems in the USG. NIH and DoE would also (presumably) be real benefits, but that’d be two different organizations to hack through.
- Eridrus 6y ago
  Maybe Schmidt really expects a war with China, but I find it hard to be impressed by an XX% efficiency gain in finding potential terrorists. Obviously these problems are difficult in some way, otherwise they would have been solved, but at least pick problems that are worth solving.
- Retric 6y ago
  The DoD is relatively simple in comparison to the giant mess of interrelated healthcare systems the US government deals with. ASD NII then DISA has worked for years to get systems to at least talk to each other reasonably well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistant_Secretary_of_Defense_for_Networks_and_Information_Integration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistant_Secretary_of_Defense... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Information_Systems_Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Information_Systems_Ag...
jkestner 6y ago
Improve, or get his cut from? Schmidt is invested in several military startups and of course Google. So he’s nothing special; no one wants to make the military more efficient. It’s just a convenient channel for transferring money to contractors while soldiers are short on body armor.
616c 6y ago
Not only that but does he even have a clue about the DDS and USDS for civil and military digital transformation groups, where they select a lot of people to fix the issues he's talking about to embed in areas and build solutions? A lot of former SV people (they brag about ex Googlers) so this comes off as pretty funny and tone deaf by Schmidt but whatever. Why support existing transformation structures when you can fix everything in one day under a tent (to paraphrase his own words, if they are even accurate)? But I'm equally mad at not wanting to fix boring infrastructure first, like parent said. I see a lot of high quality transformation efforts, albeit anecdotally, in the military. Can we focus on the more boring civic systems, lest we find out that not only COBOL unemployment platforms are in trouble?
brown9-2 6y ago
You really can’t remove the profit motive from it. There’s not going to be nearly as much money in revolutionizing the software of the IRS.
pc86 6y ago
Do you need a former Google CEO to help $18/hr H1B contractors figure out case-insensitive matching? Problems like the IRS website are are about incompetence at the lowest levels, not incompetence at the highest levels.
- conro1108 6y ago
  Is it not a sign of incompetence at the highest level when important projects like the IRS website are handed off to contractors who can't get it done?
- mattkrause 6y ago
  They are connected though. The apparently-lousy contractor is not just randomly inept. They are a product of high-level decisions to have a slow, inflexible hiring process, to replace lots of in-house expertise with contractors, and to award contracts in a way that emphasizes skill with the contracting process over skill at delivering useful results. It’s essentially a political problem and a well-known CEO certainly has the clout to catch politicians’ ears.
Traster 6y ago
I can think of other reasons why enormously wealthy people aren't interesting in making sure the IRS functions well.
mch82 6y ago
It’s much more challenging to make software for the IRS, healthcare, and civilian agencies that operate within the United States with direct impact on the lives of US Citizens.
zarkov99 6y ago
Perhaps he believes that keeping the US from ceding military supremacy to China is more important than fixing minor UX inconveniences.
- jkestner 6y ago
  If the US cedes supremacy despite spending 3x what China does, it's because of grift, like R&D for unwanted jets or RFPs written for one contractor. I'm sure Schmidt can introduce them to the free market.
einpoklum 6y ago
Possible explanation: The military can expend large amounts of money with little oversight - even when there are no results, poor results, or when money just falls through the cracks.
boublepop 6y ago
it seems obvious that the military “needs improvement” primarily because it’s got tons of funding and no good way to waste it.

Armisael16 6y ago

The DoD is also the single largest conglomeration of systems in the USG. NIH and DoE would also (presumably) be real benefits, but that’d be two different organizations to hack through.

Eridrus 6y ago
Maybe Schmidt really expects a war with China, but I find it hard to be impressed by an XX% efficiency gain in finding potential terrorists. Obviously these problems are difficult in some way, otherwise they would have been solved, but at least pick problems that are worth solving.
Retric 6y ago
The DoD is relatively simple in comparison to the giant mess of interrelated healthcare systems the US government deals with. ASD NII then DISA has worked for years to get systems to at least talk to each other reasonably well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistant_Secretary_of_Defense_for_Networks_and_Information_Integration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistant_Secretary_of_Defense... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Information_Systems_Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Information_Systems_Ag...

jkestner 6y ago

Improve, or get his cut from? Schmidt is invested in several military startups and of course Google. So he’s nothing special; no one wants to make the military more efficient. It’s just a convenient channel for transferring money to contractors while soldiers are short on body armor.

616c 6y ago

Not only that but does he even have a clue about the DDS and USDS for civil and military digital transformation groups, where they select a lot of people to fix the issues he's talking about to embed in areas and build solutions? A lot of former SV people (they brag about ex Googlers) so this comes off as pretty funny and tone deaf by Schmidt but whatever. Why support existing transformation structures when you can fix everything in one day under a tent (to paraphrase his own words, if they are even accurate)? But I'm equally mad at not wanting to fix boring infrastructure first, like parent said. I see a lot of high quality transformation efforts, albeit anecdotally, in the military. Can we focus on the more boring civic systems, lest we find out that not only COBOL unemployment platforms are in trouble?

brown9-2 6y ago

You really can’t remove the profit motive from it. There’s not going to be nearly as much money in revolutionizing the software of the IRS.

pc86 6y ago

Do you need a former Google CEO to help $18/hr H1B contractors figure out case-insensitive matching? Problems like the IRS website are are about incompetence at the lowest levels, not incompetence at the highest levels.

conro1108 6y ago
Is it not a sign of incompetence at the highest level when important projects like the IRS website are handed off to contractors who can't get it done?
mattkrause 6y ago
They are connected though. The apparently-lousy contractor is not just randomly inept. They are a product of high-level decisions to have a slow, inflexible hiring process, to replace lots of in-house expertise with contractors, and to award contracts in a way that emphasizes skill with the contracting process over skill at delivering useful results. It’s essentially a political problem and a well-known CEO certainly has the clout to catch politicians’ ears.

Traster 6y ago

I can think of other reasons why enormously wealthy people aren't interesting in making sure the IRS functions well.

mch82 6y ago

It’s much more challenging to make software for the IRS, healthcare, and civilian agencies that operate within the United States with direct impact on the lives of US Citizens.

zarkov99 6y ago

Perhaps he believes that keeping the US from ceding military supremacy to China is more important than fixing minor UX inconveniences.

jkestner 6y ago
If the US cedes supremacy despite spending 3x what China does, it's because of grift, like R&D for unwanted jets or RFPs written for one contractor. I'm sure Schmidt can introduce them to the free market.

einpoklum 6y ago

Possible explanation: The military can expend large amounts of money with little oversight - even when there are no results, poor results, or when money just falls through the cracks.

boublepop 6y ago

it seems obvious that the military “needs improvement” primarily because it’s got tons of funding and no good way to waste it.