Big Tech Is Learning Lobbying From The Weapons Industry

At a confab on Capitol Hill last week, Silicon Valley titans concluded they need to lobby like Lockheed.

By Nick Cleveland-Stout, Responsible Statecraft

Silicon Valley’s elite traded hoodies for Hill passes last week and planted their flag in Washington.

During a nearly 12-hour marathon Hill and Valley Forum in the Capitol Building, star-studded venture capitalists, defense technologists, and allied policymakers congratulated themselves on the promising start to the military application of artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons in the era of Trump 2.

Jacob Helberg, co-founder of the annual forum and Trump’s pick for under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment, laid out the success story of Silicon Valley’s David-to-Goliath arc in his opening remarks.

“We have the best leader in the world. President Trump is objectively and truly a sample of one…The stars have aligned. We have the builders, we have the innovators, the policymakers and leaders for a reindustrialization revolution in this country to seize this American moment,” he declared.

Helburg forgot to credit one important group: the lobbyists. During coffee breaks outside the auditorium — where old friends caught up and West Coasters complained about the early start time — attendees explained that lobbyist insiders have been crucial in closing the daylight between would-be skeptics in government and Silicon Valley’s startups.

“It’s no mistake that there’s been an infusion of Silicon Valley acolytes in Washington DC the last 6 months,” said one founder of a venture capital firm invested in defense technology companies. “Silicon Valley is recognizing that lobbying is a key conduit to get things done and sell its message to three letter agencies.”

Venture capitalists are only now beginning to hire lobbyists. Since Trump’s victory in November, Andreessen Horowitz and his a16z venture capital firm snapped up contracts with BGR Government Affairs, Cornerstone Government Affairs, and Trump-connected Miller Strategies to advocate on “issues related to AI,” among other items. Other major venture capital firms, such as General Catalyst and Sequoia Capital, registered lobbyists for the first time just last year.