Balaji, a 43-year-old Long Island native who goes by his first name, has a solid Valley pedigree: He earned multiple degrees from Stanford University, founded multiple startups, became a partner at Andreessen-Horowitz and then served as chief technology officer at Coinbase. He is also the leader of a cultish and increasingly strident neo-reactionary tech political movement that sees American democracy as an enemy. In 2013, a New York Times story headlined “Silicon Valley Roused by Secession Call” described a speech in which he “told a group of young entrepreneurs that the United States had become ‘the Microsoft of nations’: outdated and obsolescent.”

“The speech won roars from the audience at Y Combinator, a leading start-up incubator,” reported the Times. Balaji paints a bleak picture of a dystopian future in a U.S. in chaos and decline, but his prophecies sometimes fall short. Last year, he lost one million dollars in a public bet after wrongly predicting a massive surge in the price of Bitcoin.

Still, his appetite for autocracy is bottomless. Last October, Balaji hosted the first-ever Network State Conference. Garry Tan—the current Y Combinator CEO who’s attempting to spearhead a political takeover of San Francisco—participated in an interview with Balaji and cast the effort as part of the Network State movement. Tan, who made headlines in January after tweeting “die slow motherfuckers” at local progressive politicians, frames his campaign as an experiment in “moderate” politics. But in a podcast interview one month before the conference, Balaji laid out a more disturbing and extreme vision.

What I’m really calling for is something like tech Zionism,” he said, after comparing his movement to those started by the biblical Abraham, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism), Theodor Herzl (“spiritual father” of the state of Israel), and Lee Kuan Yew (former authoritarian ruler of Singapore). Balaji then revealed his shocking ideas for a tech-governed city where citizens loyal to tech companies would form a new political tribe clad in gray t-shirts. “And if you see another Gray on the street…you do the nod,” he said, during a four-hour talk on the Moment of Zen podcast. “You’re a fellow Gray.”

The Grays’ shirts would feature “Bitcoin or Elon or other kinds of logos … Y Combinator is a good one for the city of San Francisco in particular.” Grays would also receive special ID cards providing access to exclusive, Gray-controlled sectors of the city. In addition, the Grays would make an alliance with the police department, funding weekly “policeman’s banquets” to win them over.

“Grays should embrace the police, okay? All-in on the police,” said Srinivasan. “What does that mean? That’s, as I said, banquets. That means every policeman’s son, daughter, wife, cousin, you know, sibling, whatever, should get a job at a tech company in security.”

In exchange for extra food and jobs, cops would pledge loyalty to the Grays. Srinivasan recommends asking officers a series of questions to ascertain their political leanings. For example: “Did you want to take the sign off of Elon’s building?”

This refers to the August 2023 incident in which Elon Musk illegally installed a large flashing X logo atop Twitter headquarters, in violation of building safety codes. City inspectors forced him to remove it. This was the second time Musk had run afoul of the city in his desire to refurbish his headquarters: In July, police briefly halted his attempt to pry the “Twitter” signage from the building’s exterior. But in Balaji’s dystopia, he implies that officers loyal to the Grays would let Musk do as he pleases (democratically-inclined officers, he suggests, can be paid to retire).

Simply put, there is a ton of fascist-chic cosplay involved. Once an officer joins the Grays, they get a special uniform designed by their tech overlords. The Grays will also donate heavily to police charities and “merge the Gray and police social networks.” Then, in a show of force, they’ll march through the city together.

  • GiantFloppyCock@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Balaji, … who goes by his first name…

    Like… everyone else? Or is it like a Madonna situation where he drops his last name?

  • Xhieron@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Yeah, that’s inciting insurrection/rebellion. If this guy didn’t already have people monitoring him 24/7, he sure as shit does now. And well he should.

  • Wrench@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Uh huh. CTO of coinbase. That’s as far as I read.

    So another cryptobro that thinks they’re the next tech messiah.

    You made an e-commerce platform that used crypto currency instead of standard currency. You didn’t innovate shit.

    You’re the Tres Comas douchebag IRL. Congrats.

  • buycurious@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Balaji then revealed his shocking ideas for a tech-governed city where citizens loyal to tech companies would form a new political tribe clad in gray t-shirts. “And if you see another Gray on the street…you do the nod,” he said, during a four-hour talk on the Moment of Zen podcast. “You’re a fellow Gray.”

    The Grays’ shirts would feature “Bitcoin or Elon or other kinds of logos … Y Combinator is a good one for the city of San Francisco in particular.” Grays would also receive special ID cards providing access to exclusive, Gray-controlled sectors of the city. In addition, the Grays would make an alliance with the police department, funding weekly “policeman’s banquets” to win them over.

    “Grays should embrace the police, okay? All-in on the police,” said Srinivasan. “What does that mean? That’s, as I said, banquets. That means every policeman’s son, daughter, wife, cousin, you know, sibling, whatever, should get a job at a tech company in security.”

    What in tarnation?

    • DigitalTraveler42@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      What in tarnation?

      This shit was too wild for me not to post when I came across it this morning, I knew this organization existed but this guy’s vision laid out is dystopian AF.

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Its even more than that. It’s like an edgy teenager’s view of what a powerful group is. Instead of seeing adult versions of authoritarianism like:

        “We’ll change zoning and lending laws to preclude anyone but our group from owning property in our chosen city. Without inclusion in our group education opportunities will be restricted. Healthcare will be rationed for all except us”

        …we get…

        “We’ll hold banquets for police.” “In exchange for extra food and jobs, cops would pledge loyalty to the Grays” (I’ll buy pizza for the group and they’ll be my friend forever!)

        “And if you see another Gray on the street…you do the nod” (like a secret handshake you need to perform before you enter the clubhouse!)

        Its such an oddly childish approach. Is the guy this silly or is he intentionally putting out a childish version to attract those that think this that is what power is and how human motivations work?