A Feature, Not a Bug
Marie Hicks · Technology s Stories · 2017
Until recently, the idea that Silicon Valley was a meritocracy seemed firmly enshrined in mainstream U.S. culture.Despite decades of research by sociologists, cultural anthropologists, and historians, popular press often focused on talent more than privilege to explain the successes of our new generation of Silicon Valley elites.Within the past year and a half, however, the idea that intelligence and talent account for the lion's share of a tech entrepreneur's success has come under fire.A string of examples showing Silicon Valley's vapidity and myopia-as well as its rampant sexism, classism, and racism-have made headlines, while the negative, unintended effects of social media corporations' platforms on US democracy have helped the nation reach a crisis point. 1