My Internet: Jacob Silverman
The author of a forthcoming Elon Musk book says it doesn’t concern him much if Chinese companies get more Nvidia chips.
Every other Wednesday we quiz a “very online” person for their essential guide to what’s good on the internet.
Today we welcome Jacob Silverman, author of the forthcoming book, Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley, coming from Bloomsbury on October 7. Jacob listens to Dio on YouTube, buys out of print memoirs by dissident CIA officers on eBay, and says the US tech race with China needs to go. —Nick
EMBEDDED: Do you tweet? Why?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Compulsion. I must post somewhere. And I write about the people there, the owner of the site, his investors, the crypto scammers and Nazis and right-wing tech moguls who circle him. X is part of my beat and a big part of my next book.
EMBEDDED: Do you post on Bluesky, Threads, or Substack’s Notes? Why?
JACOB SILVERMAN: I post minimally on Bluesky and Substack Notes, mostly to announce new articles.
EMBEDDED: What do you use Instagram for?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Occasional lurking.
EMBEDDED: What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
JACOB SILVERMAN: ’70s psychedelic rock and metal shows (Dio, Rainbow, Deep Purple, etc), Iran Contra documentaries, short-form videos of NBA players (esp Jeff Teague) drinking out of solo cups and telling funny stories.
EMBEDDED: Will you miss TikTok if it is eventually banned, and if so, what will you miss most about it?
JACOB SILVERMAN: The notifications I never click on.
EMBEDDED: Is TikTok a national security threat if it remains under Chinese ownership?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Maybe an espionage threat, but so are many Chinese apps and tech products when viewed solely through that frame. If it gets sold to Larry Ellison or some other US surveillance monster, we’ll be no better off. The national security obsession, the chip war, the completely undefined “AI race” with China that helps further subsidize some of the worst people in tech—it all needs to go. We can still acknowledge that economic espionage is a part of the new cold conflict that should be mitigated. But China is already matching or completely outstripping US counterparts in solar, batteries, electric cars, certain chips, and so much else, including bringing hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Our economies are pretty intertwined—to our mutual benefit. A shooting war would be a world-historic calamity. It doesn’t concern me much if Chinese tech companies get more Nvidia chips.
EMBEDDED: Where do you tend to get your news?
JACOB SILVERMAN: AP, Reuters, NYT, WSJ, Bloomberg, X
EMBEDDED: How do you keep up with the online discourse? How important is it to you to do this?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Mostly on X. It’s less important to me since I finished my latest book, which I’m thankful for. But it also depends what’s meant by discourse—a mega-viral story, media industry gossip, another “is this TV show good for society” debate, meta commentary about platform ethics, etc. Sometimes I miss this stuff and only catch a few references and I don’t feel the need to “catch up.” There’s always more.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last strong opinion you had about a story, topic, or controversy online?
JACOB SILVERMAN: The unending daily outrage of seeing Israel commit genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza while the world does nothing.
EMBEDDED: What are your favorite newsletters?
JACOB SILVERMAN:
Read Max by
, JFK Facts by ,
EMBEDDED: Do you have a take on the “manosphere”? Do you think personalities like Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, and Theo Von have shaped young men’s political leanings?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Their shows are too long but I would like them to talk about my book.
EMBEDDED: Do you believe that the “artificial general intelligence” and “superintelligence” that many AI boosters have warned of actually pose a risk to humanity?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Not an apocalyptic risk, no.
EMBEDDED: Are smartphones bad for us? Where do you fall on the Jonathan Haidt-Taylor Lorenz divide?
JACOB SILVERMAN: I think my smartphone use is overall bad for me and distracting from some of what I want from my day to day life. I would like to use it less, especially in front of my kids. That’s as far as I’ll go.
EMBEDDED: Have you had posts go viral? What is that experience like?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Eventually I mute or delete them.
EMBEDDED: Who’s someone more people should follow?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Matt Farwell aka
EMBEDDED: Are you into any podcasts right now? How and when do you usually listen?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Fourth Reich Archaeology, Ghost Stories for the End of the World, Chapo, TrueAnon, various lefty tech critic podcasts. I walk a lot.
EMBEDDED: Do you use Slack or Teams for work? What’s the best thing about Slacking with your co-workers? What’s the worst thing?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Thankfully not.
EMBEDDED: Do you text people voice notes? If not, how do you feel about getting them?
JACOB SILVERMAN: I like them. I appreciate the relative effort.
EMBEDDED: Do you pay for a music streaming service, and if so, which one? What’s a playlist, song, album, or style of music you’ve listened to a lot lately?
JACOB SILVERMAN: YouTube Music. I’ve been listening to Elf’s Trying to Burn the Sun (1975), especially the track “Wonderworld.”
EMBEDDED: If you could only keep one streaming service for TV and/or movies, which would it be, and why? What’s a show that you’re really into right now?
JACOB SILVERMAN: MLB TV for me, Disney for my kids.
EMBEDDED: What’s the most basic internet thing that you love?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Email, on rare occasion it brings me money or something nice from a friend.
EMBEDDED: Is there any content you want but can’t seem to find anywhere online?
JACOB SILVERMAN: The full contents of the National Archives, some court documents, a unified FOIA system, tapes from Congressional hearings over the years.
EMBEDDED: Do you regularly use eBay, Depop, or other shopping platforms? What’s a recent thing you’ve bought or sold?
JACOB SILVERMAN: I spend a lot of time looking at laptops I’ll never buy on eBay. I also use it to buy out of print memoirs by dissident CIA officers.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last thing that brought you joy online?
JACOB SILVERMAN: Shohei Ohtani highlights. Nick Kurtz’s 4 home run game was pretty great, too. Anyone doing cool baseball stuff.
Thanks Jacob! Preorder his book.
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