Industry Voices
Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist at Google
This is absolutely shameful. Agents of a federal agency unnecessarily escalating, and then executing a defenseless citizen whose offense appears to be using his cell phone camera. Every person regardless of political affiliation should be denouncing this.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic
I’ve been working on [a new] essay for a while, and it is mainly about AI and about the future. But given the horror we’re seeing in Minnesota, its emphasis on the importance of preserving democratic values and rights at home is particularly relevant.
Daniela Amodei, President of Anthropic
I’m horrified and sad to see what has happened in Minnesota. Freedom of speech, civil liberties, the rule of law, and human decency are cornerstones of American democracy. What we’ve been witnessing over the past days is not what America stands for.
My career has been dedicated to the idea that it is possible to build a kinder, brighter future. I still believe this is true. I am heartened to see leaders from across the political spectrum speaking up to say that what they saw was wrong, and appreciate their calls for a full and transparent investigation.
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn
SF Standard · January 26, 2025
We in Silicon Valley can’t bend the knee to Trump. We can’t shrink away and just hope the crisis will fade. We know now that hope without action is not a strategy — it’s an invitation for Trump to trample whatever he can see, including our own business and security interests.
Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator
If someone had predicted before the last election that if Trump won, federal officers would be shooting Americans in the streets, he’d have been dismissed as an alarmist.
Chris Olah, co-founder of Anthropic
I try to not talk about politics. I generally believe the best way I can serve the world is as a non-partisan expert, and my genuine beliefs are quite moderate. So the bar is very high for me to comment.
But recent events – a federal agent killing an ICU nurse for seemingly no reason and with no provocation – shock the conscience.
My deep loyalty is to the principles of classical liberal democracy: freedom of speech, the rule of law, the dignity of the human person. I immigrated to the United States – and eventually cofounded Anthropic here – believing it was a pillar of these principles.
I feel very sad today.
Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst
This is not politics as usual. As investors, innovators, leaders, and citizens, we need to come together to preserve our democracy, the rights set forth in our country’s Constitution, and our shared humanity. All of these serve as the foundation for our modern society, human progress, and innovation. What we are seeing in Minnesota is a threat to those core tenets and to the promise of America. Without confidence in the fundamentals – human rights, the legal process, and the privilege and responsibility of our government and its leaders to protect all people – the future is at stake. That impacts all of us here in the U.S., and globally.
John O’Farrell, ex-General Partner, a16z
No matter how large or small your following, if you’re in tech and you’re appalled by this barbarism, please post or retweet! Decent people have been Silicon Valley’s silent majority for too long.
Kath Korevec, Director of Product at Google Labs
What’s happening in Minnesota and across the country is not normal. Many of us are seeing things online that feel frightening, destabilizing, and deeply wrong. It’s OK to name that this is scary and that you don’t know what to do.
I try really hard to be a safe space in the tech industry. As part of that, I stand with Minnesota. I don’t tolerate hate speech in my comments or my communities. What we normalize in our spaces matters.
These past few days, I’ve had a lot of people DM me, saying they’re scared and asking what they can do in this moment. I’ve also had people accuse me of not doing enough.
There’s no single correct response here. For many people, one meaningful thing you can do is simply say what you think and how you feel. It’s OK to just post something. Speaking up is still action.
Josh Miller, CEO of The Browser Company
I have hesitated to share my political opinions more broadly, but it has become clearer to me that this shift is no longer about politics.
It is about something more fundamental. It is about what America stands for. Call it morals, call it decency, whatever word resonates most with you.
Our government executed a man yesterday. I am deeply sad for his parents, and hope this serves as a unifying moment for all of us.
Deep down, we all know this is not right.
Katie Jacobs Stanton, Founder and General Partner of Moxxie Ventures
The courage gap is striking: a poet and a nurse lost their lives protesting ICE brutality, while those with power & money, from Silicon Valley to Washington, stay silent or contort the narrative.
Kasey Klimes, former Google Senior UX Researcher
respect to @simpsoka, @JeffDean, and other former colleagues at @Google keeping the culture of standing up for what’s right alive
@sundarpichai I hope you’re listening to the talent that’s keeping the company competitive — and that you’ll use your voice too”