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Why Technology Still Matters with Marc Andreessen

With much coverage of technology lined with pessimism, the a16z Podcast returns to highlight the bright side of technology, alongside the founders building it. But before featuring the solutions in progress, we wanted to explore why building the future is still so important. And who better to traverse this ground than a16z’s own cofounder Marc Andreessen, who has built and invested in the future time and time again, especially when it wasn't the obvious thing to do. Together with Marc, this episode explores technology through the lens of history – including the three stages of human psychology as we encounter new technologies, how that process often manifests in regulation, when to change your mind, the Cambrian explosion of opportunity coming from distributed work, the importance of founder-led companies, and perhaps most importantly, we examine why there's still much reason for optimism. Topics Covered: 00:00 - Welcome back! 02:12 - The importance of tech today 05:34 - Historical negativity toward technology 10:13 - The invention of the bicycle 14:01 - Innovation vs status in society 21:57 - Automobile moral panic and red flag laws 26:28 - Balaji’s arc on social networking 29:28 - Surfacing signal from noise 36:10 - The role of timing in innovation 40:04 - Today’s major unlocks 47:51 - Remote work and society reshuffling 53:08 - Changing your mind 57:52 - Retaining a lens of optimism 1:08:58 - What Marc’s excited about 1:13:39 - Bourgeois vs managerial capitalism 1:23:12 - Reform vs starting anew Resources: * Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca * Pessimist’s Archive: https://pessimistsarchive.org/ Stay Updated: * Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z * Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z * Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ * Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Steph SmithhostMarc Andreessenguest

Nov 9, 20221h 31mWatch on YouTube ↗

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EPISODE INFO

Released: November 9, 2022
Duration: 1h 31m
Channel: a16z
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

With much coverage of technology lined with pessimism, the a16z Podcast returns to highlight the bright side of technology, alongside the founders building it. But before featuring the solutions in progress, we wanted to explore why building the future is still so important. And who better to traverse this ground than a16z’s own cofounder Marc Andreessen, who has built and invested in the future time and time again, especially when it wasn't the obvious thing to do. Together with Marc, this episode explores technology through the lens of history – including the three stages of human psychology as we encounter new technologies, how that process often manifests in regulation, when to change your mind, the Cambrian explosion of opportunity coming from distributed work, the importance of founder-led companies, and perhaps most importantly, we examine why there's still much reason for optimism. Topics Covered: 00:00 - Welcome back! 02:12 - The importance of tech today 05:34 - Historical negativity toward technology 10:13 - The invention of the bicycle 14:01 - Innovation vs status in society 21:57 - Automobile moral panic and red flag laws 26:28 - Balaji’s arc on social networking 29:28 - Surfacing signal from noise 36:10 - The role of timing in innovation 40:04 - Today’s major unlocks 47:51 - Remote work and society reshuffling 53:08 - Changing your mind 57:52 - Retaining a lens of optimism 1:08:58 - What Marc’s excited about 1:13:39 - Bourgeois vs managerial capitalism 1:23:12 - Reform vs starting anew Resources:
Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca
Pessimist’s Archive: https://pessimistsarchive.org/
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

SPEAKERS

Steph Smith
host
Host of the a16z Podcast.
Marc Andreessen
guest
Co-founder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of a16z, featuring Steph Smith and Marc Andreessen, Why Technology Still Matters with Marc Andreessen explores marc Andreessen Explains Why Building New Technology Still Matters Today Marc Andreessen argues that technology is the only reason human life improved from being nasty, brutish, and short, and that new technologies always provoke fear and backlash, from fire and the bicycle to cars and social networks.

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