Leah Figer: I think that’s a really, really good point, honestly. And obviously, there’s a palpable fear that someone like Lina Khan will come along and wreak havoc. However, as you point out, the chaos is likely due to administrative procedures. No, I can hear you. I can hear it.

Zoe Schiffer: I mean, think about it. He was actually held accountable for saying he had the money to take Tesla private. He said he had secured funding to take Tesla private. What was the result? Was he fined $20 million? How much is Elon Musk worth? Even if the numbers hurt, he doesn’t want to pay it. It’s kind of a drop in the bucket.

Leah Figer: No, he is already a trillionaire, I think. On that note, I don’t think this is the first time that super PACs and big money in politics have stirred up controversy.

We had a big conversation in 2024 about how crazy it was that Elon Musk was throwing money at the wall. Now he’s throwing money again through America PAC, which feels like a pattern. It also feels like other tech founders and their PACs already have enormous influence within this administration.

There are PACs from all kinds of groups across Silicon Valley that are deeply involved in this election cycle. I’m very interested to hear how people are thinking about the midterm cycle and the future.

Zoe Schiffer: Silicon Valley is not a monolith. There are a lot of really loud voices in the room, and many of those voices fully support President Trump and the Republican Party.

I think those people are aligned with Elon Musk on some of the concerns you mentioned: that there will be investigations, that growth will slow if Democrats take over, and that they won’t be able to lead the competition in AI and other areas.

Therefore, they believe they must do everything in their power to protect the future they want to achieve.

Of course, there are many rank-and-file employees with more liberal values who are a little more silent, but they contribute to various causes. There’s an interesting conversation happening in the Valley right now because there are a lot of new millionaires.

People who work in AI research now have substantial wealth, and they’re having a lively conversation about the best way to deploy their capital. Where should they put their money to have the biggest impact? Should it go to charity or politics? If it goes to politics, where should they contribute?

There is no definitive answer at the moment, but it is definitely a hot topic.

Zoe Schiffer: Leah, as you and our listeners know, there’s been a lot of discussion lately about AI safety. It has largely escaped containment.

Within that discussion, one philosophy comes up again and again and is starting to become the center of attention: effective altruism.

Last month, AI researcher Jacob Coxon voiced support for one of effective altruism’s central concerns: that advanced AI could wipe out humanity. This sparked a series of headlines and an intense response from the Trump administration.

Senior Pentagon officials labeled effective altruism a “dangerous ideology,” and the Pentagon’s official social media accounts urged people to choose “Americanism over effective altruism.”

So we are becoming increasingly aware of these boundaries. But Leah, just to add a little more, when did you first realize that? You’re in New York, not Silicon Valley, so when did you learn about effective altruism?