Table Of Contents
Free Speech and Political Correctness
The USA is the land of free speech. I think that’s amazing. And think that people should be allowed to say anything - even stupid or wrong things. Or things that I don’t like to hear.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. And I hope that’s true.
Interestingly, the USA is also the land of political correctness, where saying the politically wrong thing can cost you your job. And “politically” wrong often means “you’re saying something I’m not comfortable with”. US university campuses are famous for their left-wing leanings.
It’s not that different from Germany. We also have very left-leaning campuses. And saying that there are two genders can get you in trouble with the university.
Political Correctness in Business
In many companies, Political Correctness is becoming more and more visible. For instance how to write certain words. Is “hey guys” an insult for groups of women?. Discussing which words are still “ok” to say these days can spark large discussions in companies.
Small groups and very niche opinions suddenly become very vocal. DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) is the name of the game.
Lately, more and more companies are banning politics from the workplace. It seems to be a trend. Let’s dive a little deeper into the topic with some examples.
Coinbase
In 2020, Coinbase was hit with a wave of politically correct discussions. Brian Armstrong, dealt with the situation by banning politics from the company and putting its mission first.
He also offered compensation packages to anyone who was not comfortable with that. This was the first example of a CEO not just accepting more and more intrusion and politically motivated rules, but simply saying: No. And if you want to leave, fine.
Basecamp
Basecamp - formerly known as 37Signals - is the home of Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH). DHH in particular is very opinionated on many topics. Technical. Societal. And David is very well known in the tech bubble.
In 2021, Basecamp was also faced with many angry discussions within their teams about political topics. How to say things. How to call things. Jason decided this was fruitless in the face of a company. DHH doubled down
In the end, people not ok with the change left. Basecamp (and hey and…) is still alive and kicking.
Google Changes Course
Google has often been accused of being left-leaning.
Many think that this leads to bad results. Especially when a company sells itself as a neutral source of information, when in fact everything is made by left-leaning people.
Google got into the AI game a little late, but is making good process. But their AI seems to have gone a bit too far when it comes to being politically correct. Representing Nazis as white, but also black and Asian. Ever heard of these famous Black Nazis in concentration camps? No? Me neither. Has political correctness gone too far, or is this just a glitch in the AI model?
Sundar Pichai thinks so and changes course.
We have a duty to be an objective and trusted provider of information that serves all of our users globally. When we come to work, our goal is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. That supersedes everything else and I expect us to act with a focus that reflects that.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
That’s quite a massive announcement. And a good one.
Elon Musk and AI
You can think what you want about Elon. But he is very much on the side of free speech. And that is something I appreciate.
He is pushing all of us to accept uncomfortable thoughts. And he pushes AI makers to create models that focus on truth first.
AI must first and foremost tell the truth, even if it is uncomfortable
I’m going to start something which I call TruthGPT,” Musk said, “or a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe.
Elon Musk
Conclusion
Here’s my two (three) cents:
- A company should be an apolitical place.
- Political discussions can be a huge distraction at work. Ban these discussions and focus on your company’s mission.
- Banning politics can cause an outcry - but a company (and you as CEO / CTO) can easily handle that.
But aren’t political issues important? Yes, they are. Political issues are extremely important. We should discuss them controversially as a society. But not in a corporate setting.
