So do you ever hear the saying, “When the cats are away the rats will play.”? Apparently, Microsoft founder Bill Gates fears this is happening to the IT service and computer tech world. Bill Gates threatens government intervention if tech leaders don’t get it together.
So the first thing Gates talks address is the monopolization of tech companies. He’s right. Look at Amazon; they own about everything. Then look at Google and Apple. Those two companies, and their offspring, back over 90% of all smartphones. Then you have phone companies. Only a handful of retailers, like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile sell most of the phones.
But Gates didn’t stop there. Gates says they’re supporting things that will prevent the government from functioning. One example he gives is Apple refusing to unlock a phone for law enforcement a terrorist owned. The owner of the phone was one of the perpetrators of the 2015 San Bernadino, CA massacre.? Then,? Gates wonders why tech companies are backing anonymous financial transactions. Furthermore, the Russian interference of the 2016 elections, and tech companies not doing anything about it, came up. Then you have AI technology threatening jobs, even threatening human interaction on the most intimate levels.
Gates isn’t the only one worried. Congressmen, Democrats and Republicans, say IT support have way too much power. One says, “If you don’t do something about it, then we will”. That should scare anybody. Think about it. A handful of tech companies control everything we do these days. Think about if just Google, Apple, and Facebook shuts down all their companies today. What would that look like? So in a way, Gates is right, as are the concerned lawmakers. But I find it ironic this is coming from Bill Gates. Wasn’t this the man who used to say, “The goal of business isn’t to create a profit. It’s too create a monopoly!”? Is he having a change of heart now? Bill Gates threatens government intervention. Or is he learning from his mistakes and doesn’t want other magnates repeating them?