Kara Swisher · 48:15
Think AI is absolutely one of them, especially in its early stages. That said, it's a for profit... It's gonna be a for profit situation, but I think it's a... I think one of the negatives about the Internet is they felt no responsibility to the body politic and to society whatsoever. And in the absence of regulation, which as Scott says is the most important thing, you're gonna have to have some influence on these companies that is real, that is real. And I would say that's at the board level. At the same time, it has to be regulation as Scott says. Sorry, Phil.
Scott Galloway · 48:47
But wait. To to your point, so OpenAI has put general Nakasone, the head of the NSA, I That was his statement. They should be lauded for it. That does not in any way reduce the need to have legislation that says any AI elevated or algorithmically elevated content removes two thirty protection. I think that law should be passed. I think that is what will actually move the needle here. And we, again, we always defer to, okay. Let's hope they're good people and they're nice people and they do the right thing, and they aren't the culprits. Them telling us we care, as Kjell Sandberg telling us she cares is not the problem. The problem is we believed it. And when Exxon or Ford or other CEOs say this, we don't believe it. We say that's it.
Kara Swisher · 49:42
Sorry. Petroleum.
Scott Galloway · 49:44
That's it. We're we're still gonna have an EPA. We're still gonna have emission standards. We're still gonna force you to crash test this car and see what happens to kids in the back seat. But because we've decided that innovators and young people who are billionaires are so smart and because we no longer have we no longer have religious figures to idolize, we needed new new idols, and we decided that Steve Jobs and now Elon Musk and Sheryl Sandberg and all these people are the closest thing we have to Jesus Christ. And the the the only mistake or the biggest mistake is we believe them. We're at fault for not electing people that hold them to the same standards as everybody else. And I hate. I think a lot of the c r... CSR and DEI is like... I think it's a giant misdirect. I think it's nothing but lobbying. It's an attempt to stave off regulation by saying, see what good people we are? You can trust us. See what... We don't need that pesky regulation. We're not... We care.
Kara Swisher · 50:39
Yep. I agree. I agree. Yeah. Yeah. That was in fact my message to Sam Altman. I said you're getting regulated. Don't don't matter what you do, regulation will will be good for you. And I said the same thing to Brian. He he asked me that on stage, and I said, look. Great job. Good job. I really don't care. And he... The fact is, though, his company is quite regulated because it's an analog. There's a lot of regulations around his company compared to other companies, which is interesting. And I think they're better for it in in that regard. But... And all the analog digital companies seem to be... Have have a better, you know... We don't trust them to regulate themselves in a way, which
Scott Galloway · 51:16
is But let's look at Airbnb. There's been a transfer of wealth from, renters who have found there's a decrease in rental stock, which has pushed rents up, to travelers and Airbnb. If you wanna go to Bangkok for six weeks, you now have a much broader selection set of opportunities, and you don't have to pull into the Best Western at $200 a night. That's a transfer of wealth. It creates an externality, and that is a lot of young people have seen rents skyrocket, and that is hard. So we should elect a group of thoughtful people who say, you know what? We have taxes. There's hotel taxes. Airbnb should be subject to the same hotel taxes, which they are. And we are in the business of allocating funds as the government has done in Minneapolis to incentivize more housing development because we have a huge problem.
Kara Swisher · 52:03
Works too.
Scott Galloway · 52:04
That's how it works. But expecting Brian Chesky to do anything but get his shares from a 150 to $200, the shareholders are going to fire him no matter how nice a guy he is and how good he is and how many whales he saves and how many kids in Africa he feeds. If he doesn't get that stock from a 150 to $200 in the next twenty four or thirty six months, they're gonna decide to fire that wonderful guy. And he knows it. He's doing his job. We're not doing ours.
Kara Swisher · 52:33
Yep. That's right. That's exactly... They're actually a very good example for that of that working the way it worked. So great question, Phil. Thank you so much, and, we appreciate it. If you got a question of your own that you'd like answers, send it our way. Go to nymag.com/pivot to submit a question for the show, or call 85551 Alright, Scott. One more quick break, and we'll be back for your predictions.
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— Predictions segment begins —
Kara Swisher · 54:25
Okay, Scott. Let's hear a delightful prediction.
Scott Galloway · 54:28
Yeah. You're gonna hate this one. So every year, I start to think about... Every year, I make my... I do my predictions deck, and I roam around the world making predictions. Some are right, some are wrong, but it's a ton of fun. And the one that everyone pays attention to is what is the technology of the year? And I said the technology of 2023 was gonna be AI, and 2022, I think I said it was gonna be voice or something. Anyways, 2024, I said the technology of the year was gonna be GLP one drugs. For 2025, and I'm not committing to this, but I'm just starting to marinate in the die... Data. I think the technology of the year is gonna be, SpaceX's Starlink. And I am going I am going
Kara Swisher · 55:07
I like it.
Scott Galloway · 55:09
Well, it's Elon.
Kara Swisher · 55:10
It's a great company.
Scott Galloway · 55:11
Anyways, the the... I'm going... I'm self conscious saying this. I'm going on a boat in Greece next week, and I noticed... The first thing I did when I'm looking at the different types of boats is I asked... I didn't ask how nice it was, how big it was. I didn't ask anything. I'm like, does it have Starlink? And I had one of those moments when I was on a plane, and I pulled up the wireless networks, and it said Starlink, and I clicked on it. And my son... Immediately, I saw my son's face on my phone, and it was FaceTime. And you know how occasionally on your descent or ascent, you do get the call, but you click on it and it doesn't connect. It... I can't do that. I clicked connect, and he was crystal clear. Perfect. Boats, maritime, hotels, the thing is... The thing literally is a 10 x better product at a lower price.
Kara Swisher · 56:00
And they just they just introduced a smaller one. Right? They've just introduced a new version. Yeah.
Scott Galloway · 56:05
And you wanna talk about... We know it's a good idea. We know they've got product market fit. So the question is, well, what's sustainable here? I mean, he just it's gonna take somebody. I don't care how much money someone throws at this to try and compete with it. It is not easy to get satellites into space.
Kara Swisher · 56:20
Can can I do a tiny edit to you? Let's let's give credit where credit is due. This is about Gwen Shotwell, who is the CEO. Yeah. She was actually here. I didn't get to see her. But this is a really effective CEO who's been running this company, creating good government relations, trying very hard to to mitigate the screamy fits that he has all the time. I don't deny that he's... Was early prescient about this stuff. He talked about it early. He's been involved in early in this spacing. But he... This is a this is a company that, again, just was on the secondary market. I think it was a... I think it's $211,000,000,000 value right now on the sec... On the market because it's a private company. I would give enormous credit to Gwen Shotwell. Oh, no.
Scott Galloway · 57:03
You've said that repeatedly.
Kara Swisher · 57:04
I've said it repeatedly. And I... In this case, you know, I do think she... I don't think she even tolerates. I think she supports him unnecessarily. That it's a little embarrassing, the excuses she makes for his behavior. But, that's her that's her cross to bear.
Scott Galloway · 57:22
Let me ask you something about... Gwen, you know, or I don't. Is it true that
Kara Swisher · 57:25
I don't know her. She won't see me.
Scott Galloway · 57:27
No. Well, yeah, but she's smart. The general rule at any Elon company is there's only one person allowed to get near a mic.
Kara Swisher · 57:33
I saw an email where she wrote to someone. She goes, I'd love to talk to her or something like that. I I would talk to her
Scott Galloway · 57:37
No one's allowed to get any attention but Elon.
Kara Swisher · 57:40
That... Well, Elon's supposed to talk to her. Like, it was really interesting. I was like, wow. That's weird. I think she's accomplished.
Scott Galloway · 57:48
But but just a quick question because you know the company in her better than I. Is it true that on your ten year anniversary at SpaceX, you don't get a gold watch. You get quintuplets insemination from Elon?
Kara Swisher · 57:59
That's right. He just had a baby with another person from Neuralink. You know what? There's... There are troubling stories of his behavior. I think it was
Scott Galloway · 58:09
Oh, you think?
Kara Swisher · 58:10
No. About him. Yeah. They're... Not just the ones who agree to have his baby. That's... I don't know what to say about that. I just... It's weird. I guess consensual baby having at work, it seems a little
Scott Galloway · 58:20
fucked up. Adults, they can do what they want. Right?
Kara Swisher · 58:23
I guess, but it's it's not good. It's it's not a great it's not a great look.
Scott Galloway · 58:28
I can tell you that Evo was on the board of company. Consensical baby having having with an employee. I'd be like, okay. Can you... Is there any way you can inseminate someone who doesn't work here? Like...
Kara Swisher · 58:40
You know? Right. Exactly. It's weird. It's weird. But I think she is, I I I wouldn't like to shine light on her. I'm sorry. It's just a lot of this is her. They innovate in the size. They weigh ahead of people. I don't think people aren't gonna catch up, and there are some other options happening. I do know that. And... But I think that he... This is a this is a Other options?
Scott Galloway · 59:01
You mean, like turkey baster? Oh, wait. No.
Kara Swisher · 59:02
Sorry. Home... No. Here's a hill. I'm not talking about that. This is a home run. Here's the here's the the neg... The thing that is problematic. If Trump does not win, I suspect they're gonna look into his national security situation, like, whether he deserves the the clearance. Now that said, he'll still be the owner, and he'll be... He'll get enormous amount of money from this. So he'll be fine either way, but it could get sucked up into his If he would just shut up and run good companies, it would be probably good for his shareholders eventually and himself, but he won't. So, but, again, she she... Yeah. I would agree with you on this one. I would agree with you. I think they're way ahead, and and space is such an important frontier. But there are... In this case, there are national security implications, and I think he's got... I I I know at least they're questioning those along with his other probably problems under another Biden administration around Tesla and SEC and all kinds of stuff. So... But it... I think it obscures her good work for sure.
Scott Galloway · 1:00:03
It's about to become, the ultimate ingredient brand, and that is every plane, every boat, every hotel you stay in, people are gonna start asking, DF Starlink.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:12
Yeah. What was the previous one? What was the company that did a lot of that stuff? Intelsat Intelsat?
Scott Galloway · 1:00:18
Yeah. Intelsat? Yeah. Yeah. The one where they they had a picture of someone on Everest calling, and I'm gonna always be like, what is he saying? Get me the fuck off here. This was a mistake. Yeah. For some reason, Intel sat
Kara Swisher · 1:00:31
sticks in my brain.
Scott Galloway · 1:00:32
Yeah.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:33
With the terrestrial... Yes. Intelsat combines the world's largest satellite background with the terrestrial network enabled customers to drive revenue increase.
Scott Galloway · 1:00:39
Alright. Eight Pakistani sherpas have have died getting me up here, but it was worth it, honey. Take a picture.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:45
Right. Yeah. Intelsat. I think it was multinational. Anyway, I I I think you're right. That's a really good... That's interesting. I wonder if you'll change that that prediction over time.
Scott Galloway · 1:00:57
I don't know. Don't know.
Kara Swisher · 1:00:58
Thing will come out. I don't know. It'll be interesting. Good choice. I like it. Okay. See, I agree with you. See? You're surprised by that. That's because I I had dinner with Julie Luce Dreyfus, and she's made me a nicer person.
Scott Galloway · 1:01:09
Have she?
Kara Swisher · 1:01:11
You know, an astonishingly famous person to be so... The lack of celebrity and arrogant... Polite, nice to people, not genuine is real. It's hard to pull off when you're that famous, and I was really... Because I'm not impressed. I was really impressed. I... You know, I think it's it's kind of a testament to her character. Anyway, that's the show. We'll be back on Tuesday with more pivot. Can you read us out?
— Predictions segment ends —
Scott Galloway · 1:01:36
Today's show was produced by Lara Nayman, Zoe Marcus, and Taylor Griffin. Ernie Intertodd engineered this episode. Thanks also to Gibralose and Mille Savario. Nishat Kurwa is Vox Media's executive producer of audio. Make sure you subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening to Pivot from New York Magazine and Vox Media. You could subscribe to the magazine at nymag.com/pod. We'll be back next week for another breakdown of all things tech and business. Just a quick media shout out. The... I would argue the crispest writing of any show in the last decade, Veep.
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