February 4, 2026
Hot mic, cold cash
Technocracy 2.0
Billionaires play “Name That Number” at Trump’s tech dinner
TLDR: Trump dined Silicon Valley bosses, and a hot‑mic caught Mark Zuckerberg tossing out a made‑up “$600 billion.” Commenters are split between alarm over a looming tech‑government merger and shrugs that billionaires are just protecting themselves — a debate about power, democracy, and who steers the future
At a White House dinner that felt like Shark Tank: DC Edition, Silicon Valley’s richest traded big promises for friendlier rules — and the internet zeroed in on a hot mic: Mark Zuckerberg blurting “$600 billion,” then muttering he “wasn’t sure what number you wanted.” Cue memes: “The Price Is Right: Federal Contracts Edition,” and “How many zeros for less oversight?”
Beyond the laughs, the thread is split. One camp sees Technocracy 2.0 — a merge of government and Big Tech — citing Palantir working with the military and OpenAI floating government debt guarantees, with Palantir’s Alex Karp name‑dropping the Manhattan Project as a model. To them, this is history repeating: technocracy once flirted with rule by experts, and the dinner felt like a sequel.
Others call it simple survival. As one user put it, they’re “just doing their best not to become targets,” with billionaires avoiding becoming political enemies in a “dark time.” A generational roast landed too: today’s founders “over 40 and willing to bend to whatever makes life easier,” or, harsher, “a bunch of children” who swapped teenage ideals for power.
Culture wars added spice: a swipe at SF “rationalists” who’d trade style for spreadsheets — “grey uniforms” and all — sacrificed to the god of “Technological progress.” Amid the chaos, one confused commenter asked, “What is this in reference to?” The answer, dear reader: a dinner party that set the internet on fire
Key Points
- •In September 2025, President Trump hosted a White House dinner with over two dozen Silicon Valley leaders focused on investment and state alignment.
- •Mark Zuckerberg offered a “$600 billion” investment figure at the dinner, later admitting he was unprepared.
- •The article describes the Trump administration viewing Silicon Valley as an extension of the state in the global race for AI.
- •Examples of tech-state coordination include Palantir’s work with the U.S. military and OpenAI seeking government aid guarantees on its debt.
- •The piece traces technocratic ideas to Progressive-era thinkers and the Great Depression-era technocracy movement, highlighting Alex Karp’s 2025 book advocating a tech-state merger.