Conservatives Should Be Suspicious of Big Tech’s Sudden Favor

Tech billionaires dream of reinventing our world. So it’s not surprising that they often enjoy sci-fi and fantasy. Perhaps a few of the bigshots who assembled beneath the Capitol rotunda for Donald Trump’s second inauguration found the ceremony reminiscent of the climax of one of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels: all the main characters, assembled in one ornate place to watch as power transferred from a frail leader to a god emperor.

One doesn’t need to resort to science fiction to understand the spectacle that has unfolded in the aftermath of Trump’s victory in last year’s presidential election, of course. The steady stream of well-wishers and courtiers, including some of Big Tech’s biggest names, who have decamped to Mar-a-Lago to pay homage and seek favor is quite a recognizable phenomenon in Earth’s history. It would seem to indicate a dramatic shift in sentiment from an industry that until recently had at best an uneven relationship with Trump. But these tech titans almost certainly still retain their world-bestriding aspirations and their world-redefining designs. Their sudden Trumpward turn thus warrants wariness on the part of conservatives.