Stories

Uber chaos tests Silicon Valley's values

TIME cover story on Uber, "Chaos at the world's most valuable venture-backed company is forcing Silicon Valley to question its values," by Katy Steinmetz and Matt Vella:

"Technology is advancing so rapidly that, at this point, it is always going to outpace the law, the government, or the public's capacity to fully understand its ramifications…. If Uber's stunning stumble proves anything, it's that in the absence of any rule makers that can keep up with them, the architects of the new economy—which may be another way of saying, the new world—must hold themselves accountable. ...
"It's .. possible that what we're witnessing is the birth of a new Silicon Valley value, the concept of responsible disruption — one that incorporates inclusion and diversity, unsexy and difficult as they may seem, alongside thinking differently."

Dan Lyons, longtime journalist who has written for HBO's Silicon Valley: "There's a general sense in Silicon Valley and there has been for five to 10 years, that it's all about growth. Not just reasonable growth, but hypergrowth. Do anything you can to get that growth. That in itself causes a lot of problems."