Thiel made almost an identical feedback in a 2015 essay arguing that technological progress ought to be accelerated. Science and expertise, he wrote, are pure allies of “Judeo-Western optimism,” particularly if “we stay open to an eschatological body through which God works via us in constructing the dominion of heaven as we speak, right here on Earth.”
However what do Thiel, Trae Stephens, and different highly effective tech figures truly imply once they say it’s doable to construct a Christian heaven on this planet? For Trae, the concept is virtually literal, and occurs via his idea of “good quests,” first outlined in an article cowritten with entrepreneur Markie Wagner in 2022.
Within the article, Trae and Wagner argued that Silicon Valley was in a “disaster of nonsense.” Pastimes akin to “exiting your first startup solely to enter enterprise capital,” “armchair philosophizing on Twitter,” and “yachting between emails in de facto retirement at age 35” are examples of unhealthy quests. Good quests, alternatively, sort out massively onerous and complicated issues, and end in developments in manufacturing, synthetic intelligence, and the extension of human lifespans.
After the essay got here out, Trae mentioned a person approached him and shared that he was making an attempt to resolve an necessary downside by constructing an NFT market. That proper there, Trae instructed the viewers on the ACTS 17 occasion, is an instance of a foul quest. “The human mind can persuade you something you’re doing is an effective quest,” he mentioned.
Trae, who ran President Donald Trump’s protection transition staff throughout his first time period, used the identical good versus unhealthy quests body to clarify why he not too long ago turned down the chance to function US protection secretary. Only a few issues in life ought to be capable to take you away out of your “sure,” or your good quest, Trae defined. “I believe the explanation for my ‘no’ was understanding what my ‘sure’ was,” he mentioned.
Alex Karp, the chief government of Palantir, not too long ago criticized what he equally described as an ethical disaster within the tech trade, decrying the truth that ample capital and “legions of gifted engineers” have been wasted “merely to construct photo-sharing apps and chat interfaces for the fashionable client.” Karp went on to say that the “prevailing agnosticism” of the fashionable period has “paved the best way for the market to fill the hole.”
The agnosticism Karp refers to is cultural, fairly than non secular. However like Trae Stephens, he believes the tech sector has been too centered on fixing trivial issues and ignoring probably the most urgent problems with society. The issue, Karp argued, may very well be solved by rebuilding the US from the bottom up as a technological republic. (Presumably, that would come with Palantir promoting its expertise to the federal government.)
The Bay Space, the place Silicon Valley is nested, has lengthy been a haven for progressive values and is commonly perceived to be largely agnostic or atheistic. Its prevailing rich-hippie vibes are nicely documented, with tech employees turning to biohacking, psychedelics, Burning Man, and Esalen retreats as types of introspection and self-discovery.