It’s amazing how I missed the Silicon Valley web series considering how I am always on lookout for tech related things. Except for the cursing and crass jokes which gave out a angsty teen vibe, the series is good to peep into the actual going on of software companies. For an outsider who struggles with fomo, this series was like a window peak to the struggles faced in IT companies.
It reminded how I am completely noob at the actual geeky coding part. I don’t think I could ever stay all night doing the coding things nor I have the vision of “make the world a better place”, but I could relate to the social anxiety and other emotional patterns. I could understand the thrill of doing something exciting together. The livestream of a person in distress was more important than the actual distress situation because you only think of the surviving the tech part alone. The problem solving aspect of engineering is kinda addictive. I could understand how and why Gavin Belson wants to be at the top forever.
The series equally reminded me why the business side is boring and at the same time also dangerous enough to kill the whole thing. There is no camaraderie and whatever seems to be there among relationships is just for the time being or for the sake of work. We rarely think of creating friendships outside of work. “Money can easily pervert our minds”. That was a golden dialogue among many others.
When web3 became more popular because of crypto and NFT during this pandemic, I happened to read some of it. Along with the rise of TwitterMusk with his AI vision, the future world seemed fascinating. The whole analogy by the main character of Silicon Valley, of democracy as replacement for kings/royal rule looked very relatable for decentralised Internet. But on social media, the political wars and the discontent towards any political party and government is clearly visible. Does it mean we jumped from one problem to create another? Albeit a better problem but still a complicated problem.
The same goes for AI too. Alexa is the new play date for our kids. Advancement in medical technology has improved out lives, but would you want to replace nurses too? Reminds me of “Her” movie where in the protagonist seeks refuge in AI girlfriend. In the search for improved lifestyle, I wonder what all are we leaving behind? How can we hold onto the human emotions and compassion? Is it something we can teach machines? Technology lures me so much that I don’t want to discard the possibilities either.
In the hope that we find the balance between machines and humans in future, the love for computers, coders, software engineers and engineering courses keeps on increasing among the youngsters.