0:00:10 > 0:00:12So this is it, Silicon Valley.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16There's Google just down here.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Tesla, Apple's headquarters, Facebook.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24And over there in the distance you've got San Francisco.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Airbnb, Uber, Twitter, all based over there.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30It's absolutely unbelievable.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35The tech gods here are selling us all a brighter future.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37We are one global community.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41With the technology in our pockets, we can reclaim our cities.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43We don't want to be part of the problem.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46We are and will continue to be part of the solution.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51But Silicon Valley's promise to build a better world
0:00:51 > 0:00:55relies on tearing up the world as it is.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57They call it disruption.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02My name is Jamie Bartlett.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03I'm a tech writer.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06I want to discover what the reality is
0:01:06 > 0:01:09behind Silicon Valley's utopian vision.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Across the world, some communities are fighting back
0:01:21 > 0:01:23against Silicon Valley's disruption.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But what are the consequences for the rest of us?
0:01:30 > 0:01:32If the world really does end,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34there's not going to be a lot of places to run.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37VOICEOVER: This former Facebook insider fears for the future.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Within 30 years, half of humanity won't have a job.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43And it could get ugly. There could be a revolution.
0:01:43 > 0:01:44That's why I'm here.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50This is the story of the disruptors of Silicon Valley
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and whether their promise to build a better world
0:01:53 > 0:01:54could end up destroying everything.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59The tech gods are promising us a sunny utopia.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02But could the forces they're unleashing
0:02:02 > 0:02:05actually herald a much darker future?
0:02:08 > 0:02:09In the postapocalypse,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11the 5.56mm round will be the currency
0:02:11 > 0:02:13of the new America. I guarantee you.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32It's not at all what I expected.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Up close, Silicon Valley looks so normal.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Even a touch boring.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42What is it that makes this place
0:02:42 > 0:02:46such a force for change in all our lives?
0:02:46 > 0:02:47That's it.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48Wow.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54So this place here...
0:02:55 > 0:02:56..is Rainbow Mansion.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01It's an intentional community
0:03:01 > 0:03:04of people working to optimise the galaxy.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06So it seems like a pretty good place to start.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14The mansion is home to a bunch of global nomads
0:03:14 > 0:03:17who've come to Silicon Valley to pursue their dreams.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19- Jeremy?- Hey.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21- I'm Jamie.- Welcome to Rainbow.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27VOICEOVER: Jeremy Swerdlow is a virtual reality hardware designer
0:03:27 > 0:03:29and my guide.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30So could you show me a little bit around?
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Yeah. There are people working on stuff all over this house.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Technology has been democratised in a way that it never has been before.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41People just need a laptop,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43you can start an entire company just on a laptop.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Let me take you into the garage.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47- Or the lab.- The lab?
0:03:47 > 0:03:49You can't have a garage in Silicon Valley,
0:03:49 > 0:03:50it's got to be a lab.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54So the rule here is if your car isn't broken, it can't be in here.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56This is, this is for building, this is for start-ups.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59This is for hardware and making prototypes and building stuff.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Garages play a crucial role in the mythology Silicon Valley
0:04:04 > 0:04:06weaves around itself.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Everyone remembers how
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Hewlett-Packard began in this one.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14Apple started in this one.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18And Google's early days were here.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26- What is it that you're doing?- So I'm working out how to do CO2 conversion
0:04:26 > 0:04:28using ultraviolet energy from the sun.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31You can reverse climate change, you can terraform Mars...
0:04:31 > 0:04:32Reverse climate change!
0:04:32 > 0:04:33Yeah.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Chemically, it's totally possible.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38This is called the hyper loop.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Hyper loop is a new type of transportation system.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45You shoot at very high speed inside a tube
0:04:45 > 0:04:49and you can connect cities in a very short amount of time.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52But you must believe that technology like this is,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54in the end, it's going to help people,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56- it's going to help the world? - Yeah, of course.- Yeah.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00We are explorers, we are pushing boundaries, discovering new worlds.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Every Sunday night, the mansion hosts expert speakers.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21People come from all over Silicon Valley to share ideas.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24You can't move without falling over a plan
0:05:24 > 0:05:28to solve one of the world's pressing problems.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Our hamburger, the impossible burger, made from plants,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35uses a small fraction of the land,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37the water, and the greenhouse gas emissions
0:05:37 > 0:05:39that a traditional burger would use.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43We're looking to change the whole food system in the US.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45And the world.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Among this slightly cultish crowd
0:05:47 > 0:05:51I found a man who scaled the heights of Silicon Valley.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58Bill Hunt created five start-ups he sold for half a billion dollars.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03What do you think the attitude here is to change and to changing things,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07changing how industries work, changing how society works?
0:06:07 > 0:06:08There's a lot of that.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12There's a lot of focus on disruption.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15VOICEOVER: Here it is. The most potent idea
0:06:15 > 0:06:18at the heart of Silicon Valley's ideology.
0:06:18 > 0:06:19Disruption.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23There is a mind-set here that's very focused on disruption.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26What can you do such that you're not just talking about
0:06:26 > 0:06:28how we can make money,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31but how can we do things in a new way, in a better way,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35that makes the world better, both financially and socially?
0:06:35 > 0:06:39It's thinking about, like, how do we get rid of this previous industry,
0:06:39 > 0:06:44this previous architecture, this previous system
0:06:44 > 0:06:46and find a new way to do it, a way that's better?
0:06:48 > 0:06:52The quantum properties of different matter can be in a superposition,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54meaning that they are...
0:06:54 > 0:06:56This place is kind of
0:06:56 > 0:07:00what the dream of Silicon Valley is, I suppose.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05The... The idea that just armed with a bit of technology
0:07:05 > 0:07:07and a thought about how to change the world,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09you can actually make it happen.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12You can completely transform the way things are done.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17And that you can use technology in a way that will radically improve
0:07:17 > 0:07:19the lives of millions of people.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22And I think they really all believed in that as well.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28The same fervour can be heard from the tech gods too.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32In Silicon Valley, it's got a really positive association.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34To be disruptive means you're changing the world.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38It all sounds so hopeful.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42But behind Silicon Valley's ideals of disruption
0:07:42 > 0:07:44is a more traditional business reality.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Cold, hard cash.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Start-ups are drawn to Silicon Valley
0:07:59 > 0:08:02because of another vast industry -
0:08:02 > 0:08:03venture capital.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Financiers who gamble billions of dollars on young companies
0:08:09 > 0:08:12in the hope of finding another Facebook or Google.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15But investment has a consequence.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18The founders of the two most valuable start-ups here,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Airbnb and Uber,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24have attracted billions of dollars of venture capital.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Even though Airbnb has only just begun to turn a profit
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and Uber has been losing billions.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Maybe more than profit,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38venture capitalists want to see the potential for profit.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42And that creates a huge pressure on these companies
0:08:42 > 0:08:45to show that they're always growing.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Increasing the number of customers as quickly as possible -
0:08:49 > 0:08:53"killing it", as they say here - is the start-up mantra.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59But what does it mean for Silicon Valley's mission
0:08:59 > 0:09:01to build a better world?
0:09:04 > 0:09:06San Francisco.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Home of tech's newest disruptors,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Uber and Airbnb.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14It is a city of extremes.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Private buses take tech workers to Silicon Valley.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22Not far away,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26food queues and the very different lives of those left behind.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I'm here to meet the tech company that has raised more money than
0:09:31 > 0:09:34any other, more than 16 billion.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Uber's not even a taxi company at all, really.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42It's a sort of revolutionary new type of transportation network.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45There's this fundamental need to make transportation better,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47to make getting around cities better.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50You're talking about literally taking congestion off the road,
0:09:50 > 0:09:52you're talking about taking pollution out of the air.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Founder Travis Kalanick's utopian vision sounds persuasive.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02But scandals over sexism and bullying finished him off as CEO.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06There he is.
0:10:09 > 0:10:10Just eight years old,
0:10:10 > 0:10:16the company operates in more than 450 cities across 76 countries.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23So what's the truth about the kind of world Uber is building?
0:10:23 > 0:10:26I'm meeting Uber's head of transportation policy.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29- Welcome.- Wow, it's huge!
0:10:31 > 0:10:33What is the aesthetic?
0:10:33 > 0:10:34Open. I think. Open-plan.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36Food.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41So tell me a bit about
0:10:41 > 0:10:45what the kind of vision of Uber is.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Yeah. I mean, the vision is getting away from everybody needing
0:10:49 > 0:10:51to drive their own car everywhere they go.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Right, if you look at a place like the US,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56where the overwhelming majority of travel is done by people driving
0:10:56 > 0:10:58their own car, and that has lots of consequences.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Not just in terms of the number of vehicles people need to own,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02but how cities are designed and laid out.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Everything from the amount of parking that we have,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08to the amount of fatalities on the road, to environmental impact.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10VOICEOVER: There it is.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13A pure expression of Silicon Valley utopianism.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Is this a profit-making company, or is it a social mission, then?
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- What is this? - That's what's nice about it.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23I think by driving the business towards supporting people
0:11:23 > 0:11:26into shared cars... Right, there's a profit-making incentive there,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29obviously we're here to make money as a private business.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31But as you start to get into different places
0:11:31 > 0:11:33and you change how people use vehicles,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35then you have all these other effects that you start to open up.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40In Silicon Valley, there is no contradiction
0:11:40 > 0:11:43between chasing a healthy profit
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and claiming to be working for the good of humanity.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50But disruption means what it says.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Around the world, traditional taxi drivers have protested
0:11:54 > 0:11:57about Uber undercutting their prices.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01It's classic Silicon Valley disruption -
0:12:01 > 0:12:02destroying old industries
0:12:02 > 0:12:06by providing a popular, cheap alternative.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10But the social cost of this disruption goes much further.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15India.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Home to more than a billion people and Uber's top target
0:12:19 > 0:12:20for global growth.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24I'm in Hyderabad to see the human consequences
0:12:24 > 0:12:27of the disruption cooked up in San Francisco.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Uber is promising a new kind of flexible job,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35empowering its drivers.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48But the reality has been far less liberating.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57Narasimha and Mahendar were attracted by Uber's pitch.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10With no profits and under huge pressure
0:13:10 > 0:13:12to grow against a strong local rival,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Uber ran adverts on billboards and in the press,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20promising drivers up to £1,100 a month,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23around four times what these drivers had been earning.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Car ownership is low in India,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34especially among those likely to drive for Uber.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38So the company helps drivers borrow money to buy new cars.
0:13:40 > 0:13:46Narasimha borrowed around £12,500 to buy a Tata Indigo.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Mahendar borrowed around £8,000 to buy a Tata Indica.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06As the number of Uber drivers rose,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09the number of customers did not keep up,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11so earnings fell.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15With a ready supply of drivers, the company cut incentives too.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34I'm meeting one family whose lives have been utterly changed
0:14:34 > 0:14:37after Uber's promise turned to a nightmare.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Mohammed Zaheer worked as a taxi driver.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06When Uber opened up, he couldn't wait to join.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Was he excited by this opportunity?
0:15:17 > 0:15:22Mohammed borrowed around £8,500 to buy a Tata Indicar.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Soon his earnings fell, like many other drivers.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Were you under pressure from,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40from people who lent you money?
0:15:52 > 0:15:57In 2015, Mohammed joined other Uber drivers on strike,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59angry over falling earnings.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Noorjahan remembers the last time
0:16:02 > 0:16:05she spoke to her husband on the phone.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26A few hours later, Mohammed was found dead.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Mohammed had hanged himself.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49His body was taken to the Uber offices.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50The company did not respond.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56I mean, after everything that's happened...
0:16:58 > 0:17:01..what do you now think of Uber as a company?
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Two other Uber drivers have killed themselves in Hyderabad.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31A former Uber executive has agreed to talk to me anonymously.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Do you think you could have been, or should have been, more...
0:17:38 > 0:17:43..open with the drivers about how their salaries or their incentives
0:17:43 > 0:17:45might change in the future?
0:17:46 > 0:17:49I could have been. I would say, yes.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Obviously, yes. Drivers were misled.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53They're totally misled.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56That is actually causing all the pain for a lot of people.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09The mantra of Silicon Valley is that disruption is always good.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12And through smartphones and digital technology,
0:18:12 > 0:18:18we can create more efficient, more convenient, faster services.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And everyone wins from that.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23But behind that beautifully designed app,
0:18:23 > 0:18:24or that slick platform,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28there's a quite brutal form of capitalism unfolding,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31and it's leaving some of the poorest people in society behind.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38In a statement, Uber said their heart goes out to Noorjahan
0:18:38 > 0:18:42and her family. Uber supported the authorities' investigation
0:18:42 > 0:18:45of this case and will continue to do so if requested.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Uber said drivers are at the heart of what they do
0:18:49 > 0:18:52and they're committed to improving their experience.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55In India, Uber is listening to them and acting on what they learn.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Back in Silicon Valley,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07I'm realising how much energy the tech titans devote to one thing...
0:19:09 > 0:19:12..presenting themselves as the heroes of the people,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15taking on all kinds of vested interests.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21One of the most remarkable branding tricks of the 21st century
0:19:21 > 0:19:24has been the way that Silicon Valley has managed to persuade us
0:19:24 > 0:19:26that they're not like other companies.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31I mean, when you think about banks or big pharma, oil,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35you imagine them as being driven only by profit.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And yet Silicon Valley, we imagine, is different.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43They are puffed up with social purpose to improve the world,
0:19:43 > 0:19:44that they're the good guys.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Dear stranger,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53when I booked this trip, my friend said I was crazy...
0:19:53 > 0:19:56The founders of Airbnb, for example,
0:19:56 > 0:19:58are connecting the world,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02not simply allowing people to advertise holiday lets.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05I just wanted to thank you for sharing your world with me.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Airbnb, belong anywhere.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17This is Airbnb's global headquarters in San Francisco.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22I wonder whether I'll get another dose
0:20:22 > 0:20:24of Silicon Valley utopianism here.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29We're on our way.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Chris, I'm Jamie.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34How are you doing? Nice to meet you.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40VOICEOVER: Chris Lehane was once called the master of disaster.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44As Bill Clinton's spin doctor, he managed the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Chris is now Airbnb's head of global policy.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Like all the tech gods of Silicon Valley,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58the founders of Airbnb have their own exulted creation myth.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Two of the three founders were living in an apartment
0:21:01 > 0:21:03on Rausch Street in San Francisco.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06There was actually an art conference that was coming to the city,
0:21:06 > 0:21:07so they came up with this idea
0:21:07 > 0:21:10that they advertised as air bed and breakfast on a lister
0:21:10 > 0:21:12and, after that weekend,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14a light bulb went over their head, which is,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16maybe there is a business here.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18So, hang on, is this a model of their room?
0:21:18 > 0:21:20This is a model of one of the rooms
0:21:20 > 0:21:23that would have been in the original listing,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and there's actually something called, up on the fourth floor,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29which I think is around the corner over here, called the founders' den,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33where they actually did their meetings and came up with the idea.
0:21:34 > 0:21:41Today, Airbnb is a global giant, valued at around 31 billion,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44but it doesn't see itself as big business.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48We do like to think of ourselves as a different type of company.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52The founders' initial idea was make money off of what is typically
0:21:52 > 0:21:54your greatest expense, which is your housing,
0:21:54 > 0:21:58to be able to stay in your housing, and that still remains true today.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01You know, over half the people who are on the platform
0:22:01 > 0:22:04are low to moderate income people, regular people.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09They use it to cover basic expenses, including the cost of their housing.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Airbnb believes its online marketplace is empowering people.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Our founders, they came up with a real vision here,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20and the vision was to be able to use the platform
0:22:20 > 0:22:21to connect people to people.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24We like to say, we are of the people, by the people,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26for the people, but really they use the platform so that people can
0:22:26 > 0:22:27spend time with one another.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30You think about what's going on in the world today,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32and people are talking about building walls,
0:22:32 > 0:22:33closing doors, putting up barriers.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36A real question of whether we are going to have an open society
0:22:36 > 0:22:38or a closed society, and this is a place
0:22:38 > 0:22:40that is really focused on using technology
0:22:40 > 0:22:42to help create an open society.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Airbnb claims to be on the side of the little people,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and the only losers from their disruption
0:22:49 > 0:22:51are traditional hotel owners.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56But that's not how it feels in Barcelona,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59where Airbnb has run into a spot of bother.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06These people have rented an apartment through the website.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12They are not tourists but locals, staging a protest against Airbnb.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16They are angry rents in the city are going up
0:23:16 > 0:23:20as landlords cater more and more to tourists.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24They are increasing the prices of the normal rents in Barcelona.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40The local government is trying to control
0:23:40 > 0:23:43the growth of tourist accommodation in the city.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46All short-term rental properties must be licensed.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48This flat isn't.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54The group prepare a statement they will read from the balcony.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Before long, the agent managing the property arrives.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48It turns out the agent is managing 13 properties in Barcelona,
0:24:48 > 0:24:49all advertised on Airbnb.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11It's not just Barcelona that has seen protests like this.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Residents of other cities around the world have also raised fears Airbnb
0:25:15 > 0:25:18is driving up rents and pushing locals out.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Airbnb has now banned this property agent from the platform
0:25:33 > 0:25:35for breaking their rules.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43These were local protesters that were in the streets,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46unhappy with the way Airbnb was working with the authority,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49and the effects that was having in Barcelona.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52It wasn't large corporations. It was ordinary citizens in the city.
0:25:52 > 0:25:53But that makes the point.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55There isn't a regulatory structure in Barcelona.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58The government, up until recently,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01has resisted actually getting involved, sitting down like we're
0:26:01 > 0:26:02sitting down right now,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05and actually coming up with a regulatory structure that can work.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08In a number of other cities, people have sat down
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and we've figured it out, and it's really working well.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13So, at the end of the day,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16to address something that is a new thing that has come along,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19you actually have to have both sides sit down and figure it out
0:26:19 > 0:26:21and work it through.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27It's a classic argument from the disruptors.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Regulators, governments, elected politicians,
0:26:31 > 0:26:32they all have to catch up,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36change their policies to take account of the new reality.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44In fact, Silicon Valley seems to have a pretty dim view
0:26:44 > 0:26:46of governments in general.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49That is most evident when it comes to tax.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51- David.- Hey. Wonderful to meet you.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53- How are you doing?- Doing well.
0:26:53 > 0:26:54I'm here to see Larry.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Yeah, we're going to take you right over there.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00You can get an idea of Silicon Valley's attitude to tax
0:27:00 > 0:27:04by looking at how the companies behave in their own back yard.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Larry. Jamie, how are you doing?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09- Glad to see you. - What a beautiful office.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Glad you're here.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Larry Stone is the assessor for Santa Clara County,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21a friend of presidents and would-be presidents.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Within a five-mile radius of where we're standing...
0:27:27 > 0:27:31..almost all the major corporations in Silicon Valley -
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Google, Apple, Facebook's about five miles away.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40Companies here pay local property tax at a rate of 1%
0:27:40 > 0:27:44of the value of all their buildings and equipment.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46It's the job of Larry and his team
0:27:46 > 0:27:49to work out the value of this property.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54I'm interested in whether those tech firms tend to disagree
0:27:54 > 0:27:56with what you're saying they owe in tax.
0:27:56 > 0:27:57Many of them do, yes.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02I mean, we have about 70 billion
0:28:02 > 0:28:06of what we call value at risk.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Sorry, 70 billion?
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Of assessed value at risk.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12What, that's being appealed or disputed by those companies?
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Correct. Correct.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18And about 80% of that are major corporations -
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Apple, Google.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Larry wants to show me the subject
0:28:27 > 0:28:30of one of his biggest battles over tax.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Apple.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34When completed, their new headquarters
0:28:34 > 0:28:38will be the most impressive in Silicon Valley.
0:28:38 > 0:28:39Quite the place, huh?
0:28:43 > 0:28:46But why? Isn't this just a public street?
0:28:49 > 0:28:50Why are they so secretive?
0:28:50 > 0:28:53That's the mind-set,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57the culture of the company is secrecy.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58And always has been.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02VOICEOVER: The constant hum of mild paranoia
0:29:02 > 0:29:04is never far away in Silicon Valley.
0:29:06 > 0:29:07But we can...
0:29:09 > 0:29:11These folks are from the BBC.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15No, he's filming me, I think.
0:29:15 > 0:29:16OK.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Yeah. Well, we're just standing in the street.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27With a mile-long circumference,
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Apple Park will be a modern-day Colosseum.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Its centre will be a park for Apple staff.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38It's expected to cost more than 5 billion.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Look at this, the scale of it.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42- Yeah.- It's for show as well.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44It's like sort of...
0:29:44 > 0:29:48It's like emperors building a new temple to themselves, you know.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51It's sort of vanity.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54It's unbelievable. It's a vanity project.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58If Steve Jobs was here right now, he would love to hear you say that.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Steve, it's working!
0:30:00 > 0:30:02THEY LAUGH
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Last year, Apple paid nearly 34 million in local property tax,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10the second largest amount in Santa Clara County.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15But it is disputing the largest amount of value,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19covering 2010 to 2015.
0:30:19 > 0:30:24We have 6.8 billion worth of assessment appeals.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26So you said it's worth £6.8 billion.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31Yeah. They say it's worth 57 million.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34- OK.- That's... - So they're essentially...
0:30:34 > 0:30:37That's a big... That's a pretty big...
0:30:37 > 0:30:40They are disputing 99% of their value.
0:30:40 > 0:30:46How do you...? How can it be possible that you say,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50this stuff you own is worth nearly 7 billion, and they say,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52no, it's only worth 50 million?
0:30:53 > 0:30:56- How is that possible?- Well, because that's what they file.
0:30:56 > 0:31:01Now, obviously, it's not worth 57 million.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03So how are they coming up with this number?
0:31:05 > 0:31:08Pulling it out of some part of their anatomy,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11but I don't know if it's the top of their head or is it something else.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15If Apple's appeal succeeds in full,
0:31:15 > 0:31:2168 million of tax would be slashed to just over 0.5 million.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Apple isn't the only tech titan filing local property tax appeals.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33The company has funded over 70 million of local improvements.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38VOICEOVER: But I wondered what Larry thought all this means for society.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42After all, this local tax pays for schools and other services.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47In the '50s, '60s and '70s, Detroit was the envy of the world.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49Today, Detroit is in bankruptcy.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53We could go the same way if we don't solve our public education
0:31:53 > 0:31:56and if we don't resolve our commitment to the community
0:31:56 > 0:32:00as a people, as citizens and corporations.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Around the world, tech giants have been accused
0:32:05 > 0:32:08of aggressively minimising their tax bills.
0:32:09 > 0:32:14The EU is demanding Apple pay up to £11 billion of tax
0:32:14 > 0:32:17it says is owed to Ireland.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19But how they deal locally with these issues,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22how they deal locally with their local taxman,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25says something about the culture of these places,
0:32:25 > 0:32:30the general approach of always trying to minimise the tax they pay
0:32:30 > 0:32:33or trying to work around governments.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36It makes a lot more sense
0:32:36 > 0:32:39when you come here and you see how a company like Apple behaves
0:32:39 > 0:32:41in its own back yard.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Of course, there's nothing new about technological disruption.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58Steam power, electricity,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01production lines destroyed the industries that existed
0:33:01 > 0:33:04before them and forced governments to change.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08The world survived, life got better.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12The question now is whether the Silicon Valley revolution
0:33:12 > 0:33:14is going to be different.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19The big secret in Silicon Valley is that the next wave of disruption
0:33:19 > 0:33:21is not going to be like the last,
0:33:21 > 0:33:25because it could tear apart the way capitalism works.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28And, as a result, the way we live our lives
0:33:28 > 0:33:30could be utterly transformed.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Early morning on the edge of Orlando, Florida.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47I'm heading into the coming world.
0:33:49 > 0:33:54I'm on my way to do some disrupting with a group of people
0:33:54 > 0:33:58who want to change an entire industry,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01and they might end up changing the whole global economy
0:34:01 > 0:34:02and how it works.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11Our mission begins in the car park of a home improvement store.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17It's not the most obvious place to start a revolution,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21but this one has a certain do-it-yourself quality.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25It's absolutely huge.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31I've never been in a truck before.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Oh, wow, this is it.
0:34:33 > 0:34:34Yeah.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37VOICEOVER: Meet Stefan Seltz-Axmacher,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40a 27-year-old who's raised 5 million
0:34:40 > 0:34:43with his plan to change the future.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48Tony Hughes is key to Stefan's plan.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51What is this?
0:34:53 > 0:34:55And we've got to get this over to...
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Which is... How far is that?
0:34:59 > 0:35:03All right, so we've got... How long have we got in the truck?
0:35:03 > 0:35:05Well, then, let's do it. All aboard.
0:35:07 > 0:35:08All right.
0:35:08 > 0:35:09Let's go.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18More than three million trucks carry freight on America's highways.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24This truck isn't like the others.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Tony, is the system good?
0:35:36 > 0:35:37Car check, is the system good?
0:35:39 > 0:35:41OK. Rosebud on, Rosebud on.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48So you're not touching the wheel. I can see the other wheel's moving.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51My God!
0:35:53 > 0:35:55It's quite scary.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58It's just driving itself, man.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03Stefan and his team have made this truck drive itself
0:36:03 > 0:36:05by adding a computer
0:36:05 > 0:36:07that controls the pedals and steering wheel.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13They're hoping, by adapting the huge existing truck fleet,
0:36:13 > 0:36:17they can beat bigger rival companies racing to build expensive
0:36:17 > 0:36:20self-driving trucks from scratch.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23You see, every time it veers a little bit, my heart goes.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25I'm thinking, "Oh, God, it's lost control."
0:36:25 > 0:36:28And then it kind of comes back in again.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Like, your heart beats just a little bit quicker,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33because you're thinking,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36"Oh, my God, we've got suddenly this huge vehicle that we're all in is
0:36:36 > 0:36:40"being controlled not by the driver but by the computer."
0:36:46 > 0:36:48VOICEOVER: I can't help wondering.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Trucking is one of the best-paid jobs
0:36:50 > 0:36:53open to people without a degree, but for how long?
0:36:54 > 0:36:59Among America's 3.5 million truck drivers, Tony is a rarity.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03What do they say when you tell them what you're doing?
0:37:05 > 0:37:07They call me a traitor because they say,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09"You're taking our jobs away from us."
0:37:09 > 0:37:11- They call you a traitor?- Yeah.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13How does that make you feel?
0:37:13 > 0:37:17As long as I'm satisfied with the job that I'm doing out here
0:37:17 > 0:37:19and making lives better for other drivers,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21they can say whatever they want.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23And this will make a difference in drivers' lives.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29Stefan's vision of self-driving trucks still requires drivers.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40They'd be needed to remotely pilot the trucks through busy depots or
0:37:40 > 0:37:43congested cities, on and off the motorway.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49How does it compare now, do you think,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52to if Tony is driving without the...?
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Well, the system still isn't as good as Tony.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00The goal is that it will be better
0:38:00 > 0:38:02than an above average or good driver
0:38:02 > 0:38:04- in the next couple of months. - Next couple of months!
0:38:04 > 0:38:08- That's what we think.- That's the speed at which it's improving.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Because we're focusing on this particular domain.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15It's way easier, it's a way simpler to drive autonomously on the highway
0:38:15 > 0:38:17than to drive autonomously in a neighbourhood.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21There are way fewer variables that happen.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25There's no shortage of ambition in this cab.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29Our plan is to start to take people out of the vehicle on limited routes
0:38:29 > 0:38:31- by the end of the year. - By the end of the year.- Yeah.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34But there are some teething problems.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52We've got a team of engineers that are kind of driving with us,
0:38:52 > 0:38:54so we've stopped off in a lay-by, they've jumped out,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57they're checking the pedals, making sure everything is working.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59That's exactly what Silicon Valley's about.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Once you are out there doing it and you're dealing with real-life
0:39:02 > 0:39:04problems, things going slightly wrong and fixing them up...
0:39:06 > 0:39:09..you can then demonstrate to the world
0:39:09 > 0:39:10that we have made this thing work.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13We're not going to wait around for all the regulations.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15And then, almost
0:39:15 > 0:39:19by virtue of demonstrating its power,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21it forces the world to change around it.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24And I think that's what happens
0:39:24 > 0:39:27when you take this kind of disruption philosophy,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30this idea of Silicon Valley, getting out there,
0:39:30 > 0:39:34changing things and then making the world catch up with them.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36That's why they've conquered the world.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49- We have arrived.- We've made a delivery in an autonomous vehicle.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Rosebud drove the truck for more than 100 miles today.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03Spending time with Stefan is a chance to find out if Silicon Valley
0:40:03 > 0:40:07worries about the possible downsides of automation.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12What if it just becomes so efficient,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15that we don't need drivers any more at all?
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Yeah. That's a thing that could happen,
0:40:18 > 0:40:20but we'll definitely find other things to do for work.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24In the 1920s, Keynes thought that by now we'd work a four-hour work week.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26We found a lot of other things to do.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Social media managers, not a job in the 1920s.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33I think that we will inevitably find more things
0:40:33 > 0:40:34that we need to do as jobs.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I just, I can't believe how optimistic you are.
0:40:37 > 0:40:42- Yeah.- I mean, it's great, obviously, but does a little bit of you think,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45"Well, what if, what if there aren't jobs for people?
0:40:45 > 0:40:49"What if this time's different and we can't create the jobs?"
0:40:49 > 0:40:51You can see the possibility of negative outcomes from AI,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54like it would be foolish to say that there was no possibility
0:40:54 > 0:40:56that it could go badly.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59But look at what we, as a species, have overcome.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03You know, whether it's the black plague, whether it's slavery,
0:41:03 > 0:41:08Cold War with the threat of dead-hand nuclear orders, I mean,
0:41:08 > 0:41:09we've come by so far.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17But history may be no guide to the consequences
0:41:17 > 0:41:18of the next wave of disruption.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23What's different about this industrial revolution
0:41:23 > 0:41:27is that Silicon Valley's using data and software
0:41:27 > 0:41:31so machines can learn how to do things better than humans.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35So how far is this going to go?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39I'm meeting a pioneer of another technology
0:41:39 > 0:41:43that will change capitalism as we know it -
0:41:43 > 0:41:44artificial intelligence.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49- What is this?- One Wheel.
0:41:51 > 0:41:52Well named, huh?
0:41:53 > 0:41:55In the world Jeremy Howard is building,
0:41:55 > 0:41:58it won't just be truck drivers or manual workers
0:41:58 > 0:42:00who stand to be replaced.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Everyone's job will be precarious.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07You've got to have a go. If you lean forwards, there we go.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09If you lean forwards it goes forwards...
0:42:09 > 0:42:11- Oh, yeah.- And lean backwards to go backwards.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13And then take your front foot off to stop.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15How are you so good at this?
0:42:15 > 0:42:18- How do I stop?- Yeah, just lean back and then front foot off.
0:42:20 > 0:42:21Yeah.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23That was awesome!
0:42:23 > 0:42:24Guess where we get started.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Go through to the garage.
0:42:29 > 0:42:34There's a clue here to how Jeremy is developing artificial intelligence,
0:42:34 > 0:42:37machines that can learn like we can.
0:42:37 > 0:42:38Why do I have Chinese books?
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Well, not because I wanted to learn Chinese,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43but because I wanted to learn how the mind works,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47and the best way to learn how the mind works was to try and learn
0:42:47 > 0:42:50- something difficult.- Did you learn Chinese to learn how the mind works?
0:42:50 > 0:42:53Right, which I then used that in order to figure out how to implement
0:42:53 > 0:42:55that in machine learning.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01Artificial intelligence is at the heart of the start-up Jeremy
0:43:01 > 0:43:05founded to help combat the shortage of doctors and radiologists
0:43:05 > 0:43:06in the developing world.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08It turns out that figuring out what's wrong with you
0:43:08 > 0:43:12and how to make you better is just a data problem.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14So I was like, all right, I know how to do data problems.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17I don't know anything about medicine, but I know data problems.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21Jeremy uses deep learning software
0:43:21 > 0:43:24to diagnose cancer from medical images.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29The software learns from examples to identify patterns, like we do.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33It spots problems by inferring from what it has learned,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35becoming ever more accurate.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39The software that I built takes about 0.02 seconds
0:43:39 > 0:43:41to look at a CT scan.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42So it can look at a million...
0:43:42 > 0:43:44A human takes, to look at it properly?
0:43:44 > 0:43:4510-15 minutes.
0:43:45 > 0:43:50So we can look at a million CT scans like that, and now,
0:43:50 > 0:43:55and because we're using these neural networks, deep learning, to do it,
0:43:55 > 0:43:57it can literally develop an intuition,
0:43:57 > 0:43:59the same kind of intuition that a radiologist has.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01Within two months, we had something that beat
0:44:01 > 0:44:05the world's best radiologist to diagnose lung cancer.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08- Beat the world's best?- Yeah, beat a panel of the world's best.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11VOICEOVER: Here, the march of the machines feels unstoppable.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14So this is going to get bigger, isn't it?
0:44:14 > 0:44:17Because deep learning, once it's out and once it's doing this,
0:44:17 > 0:44:19it's not going to stop at medical staff?
0:44:19 > 0:44:22I feel very similarly to how I felt in the late '80s when I saw
0:44:22 > 0:44:26the internet for the first time, and I started looking into it,
0:44:26 > 0:44:27and I started telling people,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30"I think the internet's going to be used for all things."
0:44:30 > 0:44:34When I look at deep learning, I see that...tenfold.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44Jeremy is using technology to make his own work more efficient.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50It turned out that at 0.8 miles per hour,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53I could study for twice as long,
0:44:53 > 0:44:58have half the errors and be twice as fast than no treadmill.
0:44:59 > 0:45:04The next wave of technology could make work more efficient,
0:45:04 > 0:45:06by removing us humans altogether.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11People aren't scared enough, you know?
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Far too many people are sounding like, smart people,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17are sounding like climate change denialists.
0:45:17 > 0:45:21They're saying, "Don't worry about it, there'll always be more jobs."
0:45:21 > 0:45:25And it's founded on this purely historical thing of like,
0:45:25 > 0:45:26"Oh, there's been a revolution before.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28"It was called the Industrial Revolution,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31"and after it there was still enough jobs.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34"Therefore, this new, totally different,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37"totally unrelated revolution will also have enough jobs."
0:45:40 > 0:45:43It's a ludicrously short-sighted and meaningless argument,
0:45:43 > 0:45:46which incredibly smart people are making.
0:45:51 > 0:45:57The totally utopian and dystopian futures are like very clearly
0:45:57 > 0:46:01in front of us. And very clearly we could head down to either.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Honestly, the status quo -
0:46:04 > 0:46:08do nothing and we end up there - will definitely be a dystopia,
0:46:08 > 0:46:13which is a tiny class of society owns all of the capital
0:46:13 > 0:46:18and all of the data and everybody else has no economic value,
0:46:18 > 0:46:23is despised by the class that has things because they're worthless,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25and massive social unrest.
0:46:32 > 0:46:33It's the first time, I think...
0:46:35 > 0:46:38..I've felt party to this secret,
0:46:38 > 0:46:41that other people here seem to know and seem to talk about,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43whisper about,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46but they sort of cover it up and don't really want to say what it's
0:46:46 > 0:46:49going to be. He was very, very plain about what's happening.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52This technology's exponentially improving,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55it's going to change everything and we ought to be
0:46:55 > 0:46:56pretty afraid about that.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59And to actually hear that...
0:47:00 > 0:47:02..by someone that knows about this stuff...
0:47:04 > 0:47:05..is pretty revelatory.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13I want to know how far those at the top of Silicon Valley
0:47:13 > 0:47:16are really thinking about how automation
0:47:16 > 0:47:18will change all our lives.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26Finally, I've arranged to meet one of the tech gods themselves,
0:47:26 > 0:47:30a man who wields huge power here behind the scenes.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33Sam Altman is considered,
0:47:33 > 0:47:35I think more than anybody else in Silicon Valley,
0:47:35 > 0:47:37to be able to predict the future.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40He's like a kingmaker in Silicon Valley.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44He gets to choose what the big companies of tomorrow will be.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48Having him support your tech start-up,
0:47:48 > 0:47:51is considered to be one of the greatest badges of honour
0:47:51 > 0:47:53that you can get in Silicon Valley.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Sam runs this place - Y Combinator.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02A company that nurtures start-ups with money and advice.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Better not park in Sam Altman's place.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Its companies are now valued at 80 billion,
0:48:08 > 0:48:12including its biggest success, Airbnb.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14- Hi.- Nicole? - I'm Nicole.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16- Hi, I'm Jamie.- Nice to meet you.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18How are you doing? Nice to meet you.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20- Thanks for having us. - So great to be here.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22VOICEOVER: Sam's time is carefully allotted.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26I just kind of wanted to go over the flow,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29because Sam only has 35 minutes to meet with you today.
0:48:29 > 0:48:30- Is he very busy?- Yeah.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32So we can walk in and I can introduce you to everybody,
0:48:32 > 0:48:36and then you can interview Sam on the couch for 35 minutes.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38OK.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43She's just setting up now.
0:48:48 > 0:48:49Yeah?
0:48:55 > 0:48:58- Welcome to Y Combinator. - Thank you for having us.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02- Sam, I'm Jamie. - Very nice to meet you.
0:49:02 > 0:49:03Nice to meet you.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09Sam Altman co-founded his first business when he was 19.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12After dropping out of university,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15he sold it for more than 40 million.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17He's now 32.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19You're considered, I think,
0:49:19 > 0:49:21in Silicon Valley as one of the people
0:49:21 > 0:49:24that sees the future better than most.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26So, what are you seeing?
0:49:28 > 0:49:31A friend of mine says the best way to predict the future
0:49:31 > 0:49:33is to invent it.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35And that is a thought that has always stuck with me.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41Sam is thinking hard about what the future could be like
0:49:41 > 0:49:44after automation takes away the jobs of millions of us.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48We're going to need to have new redistribution,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51we're going to need to have new social safety nets.
0:49:51 > 0:49:52One thing, one product that I'm funding
0:49:52 > 0:49:54that we're doing at Y Combinator
0:49:54 > 0:49:55is to study basic income,
0:49:55 > 0:50:00and what happens if you just give people money to live on.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Because we have this world, we have huge wealth,
0:50:03 > 0:50:04but it's very concentrated.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07What happens if you just give people money and say, you know,
0:50:07 > 0:50:11here's enough money to have a house and eat and to have fun?
0:50:11 > 0:50:16Do you think people would find fulfilment and all the other things,
0:50:16 > 0:50:18dignity in work for example,
0:50:18 > 0:50:24under a system where there's a small number of very rich people
0:50:24 > 0:50:28and they're being given money to...
0:50:30 > 0:50:32..find things to do with their time?
0:50:32 > 0:50:34I mean, it sounds pretty terrible, pretty terrifying to me.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37You have a very pessimistic view of the future.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40I hope you're wrong. I believe that someone, you know,
0:50:40 > 0:50:44doing mechanical labour is not the best fulfilment
0:50:44 > 0:50:45of their dreams and aspirations.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47But the problem, I think,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49or the thing that makes me pessimistic or nervous,
0:50:49 > 0:50:52is that society will have to change dramatically,
0:50:52 > 0:50:53and that's quite worrying.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55Look, I believe society will have to change dramatically.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57I think we've been through many of these before,
0:50:57 > 0:51:01and, look, I understand that people have this spirit of,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04"I'm going to hang onto the past at all costs,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06"I hate progress and I hate change."
0:51:06 > 0:51:08- But it's not that...- And I hear that from you, I get it.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11It's not that. It's not hating progress.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14What if the progress that you're, not just you,
0:51:14 > 0:51:18but the community here's creating, is not what other people want?
0:51:18 > 0:51:21There are 40 million people in the US that live in poverty.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24If technology can eliminate human suffering...
0:51:25 > 0:51:28..we should do that. If technology can generate more wealth
0:51:28 > 0:51:31and we can figure out how to distribute that better,
0:51:31 > 0:51:32we should do that.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34I think it's an important job for journalists
0:51:34 > 0:51:37to try to ask about the negative possibilities of this stuff.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41I think if you continue this thrust of, shouldn't we stop progress,
0:51:41 > 0:51:43no-one's going to take you seriously,
0:51:43 > 0:51:45because people want this stuff, and people don't...
0:51:45 > 0:51:48People don't think that we should still have people in poverty.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50People don't think that we should take away our iPhones
0:51:50 > 0:51:52and take away Facebook.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54So I think you can add a really important voice,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57but I worry you're going in the wrong direction with this,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59like, anti-progress angle.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16Orcas Island, north of Seattle.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20The edge of American civilisation.
0:52:23 > 0:52:27I'm here to meet one former Silicon Valley insider
0:52:27 > 0:52:30who fears where technological progress could be taking us.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35Whenever I talk to normals, which is what they call you people,
0:52:35 > 0:52:38or normies, OK, I almost feel like saying,
0:52:38 > 0:52:40"Look, I'm from the future, believe me.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42"I just got off a time machine called
0:52:42 > 0:52:44"the flight from San Francisco."
0:52:46 > 0:52:48VOICEOVER: Antonio Garcia Martinez
0:52:48 > 0:52:53was a product manager at Facebook before he quit Silicon Valley.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56I've seen what the world will look like in five to ten years.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59You may not believe it, but it's coming.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02And it's coming in the form of a self-driving truck
0:53:02 > 0:53:03that's about to run you over.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05How worried are you about this?
0:53:05 > 0:53:07Oh, horribly, why do you think I'm here?
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Why are we here?
0:53:09 > 0:53:10In the ass end of the Northwest?
0:53:10 > 0:53:12It's going to destroy the world.
0:53:24 > 0:53:25So, this is it?
0:53:25 > 0:53:27This is it.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30So this is sort of the general area, this is my utility thing over here,
0:53:30 > 0:53:31where I store a bunch of stuff.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34That's going to be the future house site that we just walked through.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36By the way, this is the throne room right here.
0:53:36 > 0:53:37Composting bucket toilet for now.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39Why did you choose this particular plot of land?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Because nobody knows about it.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45Canada is a swim or a kayak's ride away if necessary.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49Ideal climate, big community, self-sustaining food production.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53And defensibility, in the case of things fragmenting for a while.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02The AR15, the civilian version of the M4,
0:54:02 > 0:54:05the standard issue service weapon of the US military.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10- Is it loaded?- Well, I don't know.
0:54:11 > 0:54:12Jesus.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22If things go bad in the future, what...
0:54:22 > 0:54:23Is this going to be what you need?
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Of course. In the post-America,
0:54:26 > 0:54:30the 5.56 millimetre round will be the currency of the new America,
0:54:30 > 0:54:31I guarantee you.
0:54:36 > 0:54:37This is the tipi clearing,
0:54:37 > 0:54:41this is a traditional Lakota Sioux tipi and we're going to
0:54:41 > 0:54:42put this up today.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51Why is it wobbling so much?
0:54:51 > 0:54:52Back it up, back it up, right, right.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56You might think it's silly that I have AR15s
0:54:56 > 0:54:57and a well and solar panels,
0:54:57 > 0:54:59but what do you have in the case of a crisis?
0:54:59 > 0:55:01You're just betting that it doesn't happen, right?
0:55:01 > 0:55:03- Yeah.- And as we used to say at Goldman Sachs,
0:55:03 > 0:55:05hope is a shitty hedge.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07You have hope, that's all you have, you have hope.
0:55:07 > 0:55:08Hope is a shitty hedge.
0:55:11 > 0:55:12OK, OK, come over towards me.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18So you think there are some people that are kind of in Silicon Valley,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20- doing this too?- Oh, absolutely, I'm not the only one.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25- I'm not unique in any way.- I wonder what other people in Silicon Valley
0:55:25 > 0:55:27- might be doing. - They have their own hideaways,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29they buy land in other places and they've got a bunch of guns
0:55:29 > 0:55:31and wells and all the rest of it.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33It's kind of like this, maybe a little less rustic,
0:55:33 > 0:55:35a little less hippie, but very similar.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38But, hang on, I mean it sounds a little bit selfish...
0:55:39 > 0:55:41..because what about the rest of us?
0:55:41 > 0:55:43Life is short and we all die alone, I mean, there it is.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49Silicon Valley is unleashing the next wave of disruption,
0:55:49 > 0:55:53without knowing for sure whether the world will be made better
0:55:53 > 0:55:54as a result.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59What is at stake?
0:55:59 > 0:56:02Well, I mean, there's 300 million guns in this country,
0:56:02 > 0:56:04one for every man, woman and child, right?
0:56:04 > 0:56:06And they're mostly in the hands of those
0:56:06 > 0:56:09who are getting economically displaced.
0:56:09 > 0:56:10There could be a violent revolt.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Why are you kind of speaking out about any of this stuff?
0:56:26 > 0:56:27Well, because it's the only real debt
0:56:27 > 0:56:29that I think technologists have.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Not enough of them are actually speaking out
0:56:31 > 0:56:33and actually informing the general public.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37You don't realise, we are in a race between technology and politics,
0:56:37 > 0:56:39and the technologists are winning, they are way ahead.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42They will destroy jobs and disrupt economies
0:56:42 > 0:56:43way before we even react to them.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46And what we really should be thinking is about that.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56Preparing a survival plan IS extreme.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02The coming wave of disruption COULD bring great benefits.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07But there's a risk Silicon Valley's promise to build a better world
0:57:07 > 0:57:11could inflict a nightmare future on millions of us.
0:57:12 > 0:57:18Politics, in the end, has to be able to take control of this technology,
0:57:18 > 0:57:23regulate it somehow, slow it down if that's what people want,
0:57:23 > 0:57:28but make sure that the technology is being built for people,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31in a way that people want, in a way that society wants,
0:57:31 > 0:57:33and not just in the interests...
0:57:35 > 0:57:39..of the tiny number of incredibly rich people
0:57:39 > 0:57:41from the West Coast of America.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51How did Silicon Valley become so influential?
0:57:51 > 0:57:55The Open University has produced an interactive timeline
0:57:55 > 0:57:57exploring the history of this place.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59To find out more, visit...
0:58:03 > 0:58:05..and follow the links to the Open University.