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| Amazon's chief Jeff Bezos, Larry Page of Alphabet, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President elect Mike Pence, and President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower December 14, 2016 | Photo: AFP |
Donald Trump is set to take office as the President of the United States for the second time an unexpected change is being seen in the technology world. The stars of the technology world who were once Trump's harshest critics are now extending their hand of friendship towards him.
Trump himself joked about the matter, saying, 'In the first term, it seemed like everyone was against me. Now everyone wants to be my friend. Maybe my personality has changed!'
This extension of friendship by the stars of the technology world is not just a courtesy; rather, it is part of a tough pragmatic strategy. The steps taken against artificial intelligence (AI), social media regulation, and monopolistic market systems can greatly affect the future of the technology sector.
Therefore, they are competing to gain closeness to the Trump administration to protect the interests of businesses.
Zuckerberg's position changes
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, banned Donald Trump's Facebook account after the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill in the United States.
However, his position is now completely reversed. Zuckerberg is trying to gain Trump's trust with various decisions, from attending a private dinner with Trump to closing Meta's fact-checking program.
Elon Musk's strategic closeness
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X AI, has played an active role in Trump's election campaign. In addition to donating large sums of money to the campaign, he also serves as Trump's unofficial technology advisor.
A large part of the government contracts are linked to the income of his companies, so closeness to Trump is very important to Musk.
Tim Cook's strategic balance
Apple CEO Tim Cook has always maintained a strategic balance. Despite disagreements with the Trump administration over trade tariffs, Cook has used his diplomatic skills to protect Apple's global operations. The recent dinner with Trump is a continuation of that strategy.
Bezos's pragmatic view
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, once a fierce critic of Trump, has shown support by donating $1 million to Trump's inauguration, a sign of his pragmatic approach to protecting business interests.
Google's initiative
Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin met with Trump, making it a priority to build a positive relationship with the administration as the company risks being broken up by an antitrust lawsuit.
Jensen Huang's strategy
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wants to work with the Trump administration to advance artificial intelligence (AI). Although trade tariffs could negatively impact his business, he is emphasizing cooperation with Trump to keep the United States a global leader in AI.