Handelsblatt4 hours agoDefense1 min readGermany

Military expert Sharon Weinberger: The new power of tech billionaires over America's weapons

In her book, Sharon Weinberger explains how Silicon Valley became a weapons factory and warns of a gradual shift in power to private corporations.

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In her new book “Valley of Death,” military expert Sharon Weinberger analyzes how Silicon Valley became a weapons factory.
She warns of the growing power of private tech companies over America's weapons without democratic control.

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Why It Matters

In her book “Valley of Death,” Sharon Weinberger analyzes the connections between the US military and Silicon Valley.

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Military expert Sharon Weinberger talks about the tech billionaires' new power over America's weapons, the dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic - and Steve Jobs' secret dealings with the CIA.

Sharon Weinberger has been watching America's military and intelligence apparatus for a quarter century, most recently as director of security reporting at The Wall Street Journal. Her new book "Valley of Death. How Big Tech Is Fueling the Future of War" will be published on September 22nd. In it she tells how Silicon Valley became a weapons factory. At the end of August, Weinberger spoke to Handelsblatt via video call from her apartment in Washington D.C.

For her book, the Pentagon expert interviewed dozens of officials, military officers and other insiders. She also shows previously unknown photos that show many tech grandees in a different light: for example, Apple founder Steve Jobs sitting next to a secret agent, or Palantir boss and Israel fan Alex Karp in a Palestinian scarf.

Weinberger warns of a gradual shift in power to private corporations that are not subject to democratic control. From this she also derives urgent advice to the German federal government.

Open Questions

What specific advice does Sharon Weinberger give the German federal government?