When Mark Zuckerberg delivered his keynote address at Facebook 8 (F8) on Tuesday, he switched up his usual formula a bit. F8 is Facebook’s annual conference for developers and entrepreneurs to discuss current new features and products. As he has been looking more long-term since the birth of his daughter Max, Zuck laid out a ten year plan for Facebook at this year’s event. Zuck, once again, emphasized the fact that the future’s hope will come from connecting the world. However, three minutes in to his disquisition for a global community, crafty Zuck was able to work in a sucker punch to Donald Trump by pointing out that for the world to connect, we should look to build bridges and not walls.
Mark Zuckerberg has a few words to say about Donald Trump’s threat to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
Although the Facebook CEO did not mention the Republican presidential candidate by name, Zuckerberg, 31, did express his dislike regarding Trump’s immigration plans during the social network’s annual F8 developer’s conference in San Francisco, California on Tuesday.
“As I look around and as I travel around the world, I’m starting to see people and nations turning inward, against this idea of a connected world and a global community. I hear fearful voices calling for building walls and distancing people they label as others,” Zuckerberg said in his keynote address.
“For blocking free expression, for slowing immigration, reducing trade, and in some cases around the world even cutting access to the internet. Instead of building walls, we can help build bridges,” the father of one continued, adding, “Instead of dividing people, we can connect people.”
Now, Zuck didn’t mention any names and Ted Cruz supports building a wall as well. But The Donald didn’t want anyone else getting any press out of this so he took it all for himself. Not 24 hours later, The Donald sent his pit bull Katrina Pierson to CNBC to issue his ‘nuh-uh – you are!’ retort to Zuck. Responding to Zuck’s comments, Pierson said, “Self-righteousness isn’t very proactive. I will take Mark Zuckerberg seriously when he gives up all of his private security, moves out of his posh neighborhood, and comes live in a modest neighborhood near a border town, and then I’m sure his attitude would change.” When pressed about how billionaire Zuckerberg was any more privileged than billionaire Trump, Pierson rambled about Trump, “isn’t the one that is saying we should not build a wall and we should not protect everyone else. That is the hypocrisy.” Mercifully, CNBC didn’t press for Pierson to define what she thought hypocrisy meant.
As for the rest of his F8 keynote (posted below), Zuck made a push for his Internet.org without addressing any of the criticisms. In the announced platforms, the standout was Messenger Platform that will allow us to message businesses instead of having to call them. To show off, he flew a drone to the stage, showed a Facebook technology plane being built and gave away Gear VR and Samsung phones to everyone. Never one to idle, yesterday Zuck announced Breakthrough Starshot, his nanocraft space exploration initiative with Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner.
Your moment of zen (TM Jon Stewart) – pics of Supergirl Max Chan, and her trusty sidekick, Beast
Photos courtesy of Facebook and WENN Photos
He seems like a genuinely nice guy who happens to also be insanely smart.
I love the puli – and the name Beast makes me love it even more.
I think his comment was really good but also he didn’t mention anyone in specific. It could be any of the GOP nominees or just the GOP in general. I did really like his keynote same as Tim Cook’s one & the next one will be Google’s CEO let’s see what he has to say. All of them have said something regarding politics & it’s really interesting what feedback is coming back for them.
Politically speaking, there is a lot to balance here. Trump and Cruz are both – IMO – monsters, but to have effective immigration laws is important. I think it can be very demoralizing to some parts of society to see laws habitually broken, and then those that break the law accommodated. Cultural changes – as wonderful as some of them are – are not always appreciated when introduced too fast. I think this is just the reality. We do need workers bc the price of things would skyrocket, and I don’t think US citizens are aware of how much they rely economically on the low wages demanded by this group.
Secondly– for all the altruism that Zuckerberg talks about, his tech oligarchs are introducing cultural changes of their own: labor and privacy issues. Tech vs labor is a very real issue that will probably split a lot of democrats, for exapmple. This is best shown in examples like Uber vs taxi drivers, or air BnB vs Hotels. They are shifting the economy (and in many cases, the only jobs and skillsets) many people have known and disrupting the stability for them. We are not talking about underemployed millenials, but middle age people and borderline retirees who are in a new landscape without the training to catch up or change , disappeared pensions and over all lack of financial stability. This is very grave. The push for the $15 minimum wage is useless when fast food places will just replace you with a customer robot interface screen to take your order.
Also, Facebook tracks EVERYTHING. You will stay in your demographic bubble for pop up ads, sure, but when your phone is telling you “things you might like” based upon clicks you’ve done on the desktop, it’s a bit to make a person take pause. What happens when the day comes (and it will come, thanks to progress by the Venter Institute and other scientists) when our DNA information is digitized and stored?
Zuckerberg is someone who is amazing, and I am not a Luddite; no doubt we should go forward, and I like his world view and openness to push things forward. But he is going forward in an ideal world and not looking at the ugliness: the crime, the income equality, the displacing of people economically, the bad morals or people who would take advantage of personal information – and putting it into the equation. I hate Trump’s pit bull Pierson, but she raises a good point: he lives in Mountain View CA where the average home goes for $2 mil. This is NOT the reality of many people. San Francisco has such massive displacement bc of the tech industry, at some point someone has to realize something is on fire.
I thought the Zucks live in Palo Alto and in the Mission in SF? I’ll grant you that much of Palo Alto is nice, but the Mission is the antithesis of posh. I live in the heart of it. Also used to live in MV, and while it may be true that homes go for a lot, many MANY people in MV live in apartment complexes. Lots of blue collar, working class people in MV. The posh homes are in Los Altos, and most people who work at Google prefer to live in SF.
I am happy to stand corrected for where their house is located.. but my main point remains the same: it’s still an insulated community of wealth, education and access. There is nothing wrong with wanting to live a life of these means — I think we should definitely praise his successes bc they are the things that move forward and aspiration is important, but I think it also needs to go hand in hand of understanding other communities that are not like his, and that are facing community problems (whether it’s crime, overtaxed school systems etc) that he never has to deal with. It’s just about understanding the walk in others’ shoes, that’s all. This disparity is the same for areas in NYC, where I have lived almost 20 years. Again, to emphasize: there’s a lot to balance. I am glad for tech, but it is not a benign economic and social savior .
By the way, have you heard about Charles Murray’s ” bubble test”?
Zuckerberg purchased at least four houses that surrounded his own to create a “safe space.” For real.
Have you read his texts that were released during the court case? He sounds like a total jerk. One of my favorite Zuckerisms is that “you can be unethical and still be legal that’s like how I live my life.” Which might be funny on it’s own if it it wasn’t following his glee at f*cking the Winklevoss Twins “in the ear” or calling Eduardo a “sucker” for funding his servers.
And, no, I still have no idea what it means to “f*ck” someone “in the ear.”
What a great guy 🙂
Also the dog is adorbz x 1 000 000 000.
Love that dog! Good for him. Fatherhood is doing great things for him.
I used to admire him until Facebook started pushing Internet.org aggressively in India – trying to limit the choices people in a developing country have over web surfing, in the name of a ‘free’ internet. Their moves included sending an automatic ‘support’ email by Facebook account users – it was a corporate advertising nightmare.
Thankfully, our Regulating authorities and a few internet celebrities, like AIB, helped us in reading between the lines and not fall into Facebook’s trap. Haven’t liked this guy since then.
Sorry, dissenting viewpoint. Zuckerberg wants to look like a nice philanthropist but he just wants to collect more data on every citizen of the world and sell more information to advertisers, the CIA, you name it. Even with a cute baby he hasn’t changed since the early days when he called the people who signed up for Facebook “dumb f*cks.”
India has already kicked him to the curb.
http://mashable.com/2016/02/09/why-facebook-free-basics-failed-india/#j8pVMMdI5uqQ
I have been following the situation in India with keen interest and am glad that so far FB is not winning. Frankly, Zuckerberg is about a connected world because his business desperately needs it – he would sell his soul to make a deal with China and to h*ck with everyone else. I appreciate his statements but he made them because the policies are in direct conflict to his growth plans.
Wow, what a dumb comment by Pierson. Ugh.
Good for Zuck. I know people will all comment on the dog shots but I love the baby shot, holding her bottle like a champ. 🙂
okay.
I like him from what I know, and don’t especially think a wall is a great humanitarian or practical idea. And his baby and dog are cute.
But FB has become a misery to use. Every time I want to comment, when I touch the space to type, the ad underneath the post I’m commenting on opens. Every time. I guess I’m supposed to think that’s an accident?
ETA: maybe I’m just a dumb f*ck?
No, you’re not. That is annoying as hell. I like Facebook and will go on using it, but it makes me feel like every website I’ve ever been to is looking over my shoulder. I’m glad I haven’t put anything really personal there.
I deleted my Facebook account long ago. I am so much happier not having it in my life. While I was at it, I also deleted Twitter. I feel like I’ve been let out of prison without those two albatrosses hanging around my neck. I don’t need them. I don’t want them. Now I do far better things with my time/life.
A great guy? A great guy?
Americans are such an interesting lot.
I wonder why you are such fans of people who won’t pay taxes, who ship jobs to overseas, circumvent laws put in place for public good so they can avoid having employees they are responsible for (like uber)..
You guys don’t even have maternity leave. Mark zuckerberg and all the other tech bros don’t give a * about anything other than money and power. But hey cute dog
People who ship jobs to overseas? It is called capitalism.
It has been happening forever. Even in the last century, steel was made in Mexico by the Guggenheims and their ilk, they were owners of fuel companies too. And many of the companies shipping jobs elsewhere actually sell overseas a lot. And that makes the American share holders richer= good for the company’s country.
Many European companies do this, as well. Like VW. They have car manufacturers companies in India, Brazil and Mexico, not only in the USA.
Many things that we buy around the world are made in China or have components made in other countries. I find funny that Trumps do a lot of ado about some companies for this, when he himself also makes money investing out of the US. If he wanted to keep it real, he should move all his interests to the US.
A link from Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2015/08/17/trump-the-hypocrite-investing-overseas-fine-for-him/#53a8079c936b
Thank you!
“Instead of building walls, we can help build bridges”? How f-ing original!
Facebook is not building bridges. It is a superficial facade of true social interaction.
These tech billionaires are a plague on the earth, frankly, and so FOS.
The dog is cute!
I just find him creepy. India was right to reject his Free Basics. And isn’t he Merkel’s puppet now, anyway?
Cute baby, awesome dog.
That’s all I’ve got.
Why can’t Mark Zuckerberg just shut up? I am absolutely convinced that he stole the Facebook idea and has made so much money with that. It’s a shame.
And what has he done for mankind that he is taken so seriously by some? We could easily live without Facebook (and even stay connected).