back to article Ego stroking, effusive praise and promise of billions: White House tech meeting in full

Monday afternoon saw the first meeting of the "American Technology Council" at the White House, during which most of the country's top tech CEOs gathered around to talk about what could be done to modernize the US government's abysmal IT systems. Much of the coverage has focused on the personality of president Donald Trump and …

  1. elDog

    If there's money to be made

    The CEOs of tech companies will be all over it. Even better if it comes out of the taxpayers' pockets.

    Just like may pillages over the years, you can't keep on pillaging the villagers' livestock and expect them to keep feeding you into the future. Something about a goose and a golden egg.

  2. razorfishsl

    do you really want the likes of Apple, Microsoft & Amazon controlling the US government and having access to all the information?

    there are just somethings that should Not be in the hands of corporations.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Yes, it's so much better when it's just Exxon-Mobil, Raytheon and Lockheed-Martin…

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Google, Amazon and Microsoft already know way more than the government.

      Do you think the government knows your taste in music, what foods you like, the clothes you like to wear, what your favourite furniture store is an what news articles you read?

      It the government that would like the information these guys have, not the other way round.

    3. gbshore

      Not understanding the meaning of information being in corporations hands. We are talkin about infrastructure and software to manage and automate.... modernization. Is your suggestion government create the infrastructure to use and modernize? Your statement and assertion makes no sense...

  3. Denarius
    Unhappy

    usual situation then

    oligarchs feeding from public purse unfettered by a professional public service. No doubt no-one was so crass to mention minor details about paying for the silicon snake oil* by getting some of the funds held offshore from a Double Irish Sandwich by these same companies. Thought not.

    Am I alone in wondering how a technophobic management coupled with said snake oil merchants would achive anything other than another string of IT stuffups ? The problem is a political/economic/PHB class who do not understand (a) humans, (b) limits of technology, (c) management, (d) fear competency that is unafraid to address reality, (e) the dangers of techno-utopianism.

    Perhaps a Founders Level of discussion in all Western style democracies as to limits of government is even more overdue. No, not a Tea Party rant. eg, Net neutrality or demanding simpler financial structures in companies for instance of where government intervention in a market failure case might be good for society. At least ensuring there is a general understanding that some problems are people based, not technology.

    * Nod to Clifford Stoll whose 2 decade old book is IMHO, very relevant.

  4. Where not exists

    CEOs will cash in

    I doubt seriously that Jared Kushner knows anything of the history of major IT projects, let alone the risk of failure. It will be a colossal boondoggle like any of those in the link below. The CEOs however will be ok...

    http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/monuments-to-failure

  5. veti Silver badge

    Wow

    "Almost the exact number we have created since my election" - either Trump is now taking credit for the entire GDP of the US, or the bribes he's been pocketing are even bigger than we suspected.

    1. Mark 85

      Re: Wow

      The old saying applies: "If it looks like bullshit and smells like bullshit, don't step in it." Sadly, the last election was a bullshit swamp with no safe terrain.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wow

      And if the stock market goes down, he'll blame on Hillary, or the special counsel, or congress' inability to pass his health care plan. The idea that he takes credit for stock market gains when so far the republicans have passed ZERO pieces of major or even minor legislation is laughable. But then Trump is a laughable fool, so you can't expect otherwise.

  6. deadlockvictim

    So, the federal government will purchase Macintosh computers for all of its employees which they will use to access Office 365, it store all of its data in Azure databases and make all of its purchases through Amazon. Google will handle special ops. It has the data.

  7. John Smith 19 Gold badge

    But enquiring minds need to know...

    Was it as creepy as the video of that Cabinet meeting seen a few days ago?

    Creepier than a meeting a meeting of the board of SPECTRE, even without the furniture being wired to the mains.

    As for Ms Catz. Isn't everyone thinking "Too old." (and not Blonde enough).

  8. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Somewhere in there is the germ

    Should have ended it at that.

  9. Naselus

    Somewhere in there is the germ of a good idea

    Except it's the same 'germ of a good idea' that every president has had since about 1980. And none of them have managed to implement it. And now you honestly think Trump, a man who has shown that he can't pass legislation even with control of both houses of congress, can somehow pull it off?

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Unhappy

      "a man who..can't pass legislation even with control of both houses of congres"

      Well TBF it has only been a 152 days since the inauguration.

      OTOH it has been 152 days since the inauguration and the Republicans do have control of both Houses.

      I thought there was a shed load of laws that need passing or scrapping (from the Republicans PoV) all set to go.

  10. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Devil

    "using commercial technology wherever possible is the key"

    No, it's not. Who would willingly lock government systems into whichever cloud is being pushed by whichever bigcorp is currently in fashion?

    Open is the key. Open protocols and open source.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh dear, the sheer naivety.

    As many and varied as Trump's flaws are, his willingness to shake up federal institutions while focused on money is unquestionable and may be in citizens' interests this time

    Really? Past actions have been educational in that regard, so let me correct that for you:

    As many and varied as Trump's flaws are, his willingness to shake down federal institutions for money is unquestionable and is, as always, unlikely to be in citizens' interests

    I think the correction aligns more with reality. There is nothing in Trump's past, right up until now, that indicates he has any interest beyond self enrichment and self promotion, and there are also no indications whatsoever that he will change. The reason for that is simple: he fully got away with it so far so there's no reason for him to change (and there is a question if he is even capable of change).

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sorry, citizens are not customers

    Citizens have far more rights that simple "customers", especially since far too often they have no choice about who delivers them the services they pay for, and they have to pay taxes even if they don't like it (unless they can elude them on a trumpian scale, of course).

    Nor a government can be run like a company for the same reason - it has to serve all citizens, regardless of how much they can pay. Apple may offer products not everybody can afford, but a government can't work that way.

    And schools have also to prepare citizens, not only customers and workers, especially workers for given sector only. But I'm sure both politicians and CEOs understand how dangerous learned citizens could be....

    1. Swarthy
      Gimp

      Re: Sorry, citizens are not customers

      Yeah, that line gave me a cold, sinking feeling in my gut as well. When I read Cook mention "Citizens as Customers", my mind could not decide whether he meant "consumers", "cattle", or "chattels".

    2. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: Sorry, citizens are not customers

      Exactly. I know I keep repeating myself, but the citizens are the government. Which should not be confused with the administration that is voted in (or out) by the citizens. At least if ee take democracy seriously.

  13. Hollerithevo

    But, but...

    Obama hired the legendary Rob Cook to sort out the mess and get everything working together and in a modern way. Are they going to retain the one guy not in it for the commercial gain and with huge, huge brains or (as I suspect) are they going to fire him so they can put a 'secondee' from Amazon, Apple Google, you name it, in his place?

    https://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/151830

    (Don't be fooled by 'Pixar'. Cook was instrumental in creating Renderman.)

    1. HausWolf

      Re: But, but...

      Much like most of trump's exercises, the job will go to the one most willing to stroke his massive ... ego.

    2. Swarthy

      Re: But, but...

      Well, So far most of Trumps activities seem directed at undoing everything Obama did, so I'm guessing the latter.

  14. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Pint

    So where's the rest of the laws the 'pubs want to pass with their massive majority?

    Enquiring minds.....

    Beer, because that's about the most useful thing most people find about pubs.

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