Words are very impactful.
In an 18th century letter, the American writer, scientist, political philosopher, publisher, and one of the founding father of America, Benjamin Franklin, wrote and made the phrase popular:
“Death and taxes are the two things certain in life”
A lot has changed since then.
When I was about to graduate from business school in 2016, the hot career was becoming a product manager at a tech company.
Either that or you go raise money from one of those fancy VCs with their blue Patagonia vests in silicon valley.
Everyone was into ‘tech’
The summer before graduating, each one of us MBA students had to do an internship that puts you on the path to the “once-in-a-lifetime” pivot to the new career of your dreams.
This was it.
The final opportunity to latch on to the growing tech rocket, filled with software companies “eating up the world.”
The last chance to continue hanging with the elite before you’re kicked back down to the mediocre working class.
I decided to go work at a furniture factory in Ghana. (That decision is a story for another day)
It put me on a path to start my own business – an industrial advisory firm focused on international expansion into Africa.
I got back on campus after that internship and a few classmates would ask: “What did you do over the summer?”
“I worked at a furniture factory.”
“Really? You’re an engineer. I thought you’d get into tech.”
I’d go on thinking: “isn’t a factory, or furniture itself, technology?”
This question about “whether I was in tech or not” would follow me through my career afterwards. Hearing this question was even more maddening, especially when it came from non-technical people.
The word “technology” had been co-opted.
But isn’t everything and every tool, technology?
From pencil and paper to the phone in your hand?
It’s all tech, right?
Stuck on a previous OS.
Most of us are still stuck on a previous operating system.
We are focused on how things used to work, fantasizing about the good ol’ days.
We think the changes we’re experiencing are new. We cherry pick the part of the OS that we want to hold on to. Some of us have accepted agreements like that old American saying, “there are two things certain in life: death and taxes,” ever since it made its way into our psyche in the 1700s.
Fast forward to 2024, where we have sweeping technological and economic changes like AI and Blockchain, both of which will change the way we trade and interact in the next 10 years, and most people still want to bury their head in the sand and cling on to the past.
“Let me just sharpen my pencils, do my work, pay my taxes, and wait for the weekend..la la la la la”
There’s no hiding.
In reality, unlike that old saying there are things that have permeated human society from the beginning of time.
That’s our ability to coordinate and build tools to help us thrive.
Building tools is what we call technology.
As long as humans are around, we will continue to build and improve on our tools and technology. However, this technology comes with baggage.
It becomes advantageous to some and not to others. Affordable energy for some becomes degraded environment for others.
There is a ‘tax’ that comes with technological advancement and you don’t have to file it every year.
It just happens and if you aren’t paying attention, you pay that tax without even knowing.
That’s why the most up to date OS, one that’s been around for a while, is:
“The only thing that’s certain in life is tech and taxes.”
Upgrading your operating system with tech realism:
I’m not one of those tech optimists, drinking their silicon valley kool-aid (it’s probably organic kool-aid with kombucha and some carbon capture story on the package).
Anyways…
Marc Andreessen, the famous investor, put out a manifesto and claimed that the internet solved loneliness (really, bro?)
Some people think technology will solve everything.
Technology is driven by the need to solve problems but they are usually local. It’s like a balloon. Without awareness of the full scope of issues, you push down on one end, another issue pops up on the other side.
Unlike the tech optimists, I would rather be a tech realist, knowing that with every problem we solve, there’s a chance we are not paying attention to the entire system.
In my old school engineering days, we were more of a safety-first industry. We wore hard-hats and steel-toe boots to site because a faulty valve could be fatal. But then our fellow softchair engineers shifted us into a break-things-first-and-quick industry.
Perhaps there’s a middle ground, a more balanced approach of innovation and safety.
Although it’s not possible to see it all, but taking this approach allows you to solve problems with a sense of responsibility.
It starts with an OS update.
Here are three patches for that update.
1. Paying attention to tech and taxes
For every action there’s a reaction.
For every piece of furniture created, a tree has to be cut down.
For every uber ride, oil, coal, or solar energy has to be consumed.
For every AI prompt, energy is consumed to run the datacenter that keeps the server running.
For every free piece of content you consume, your privacy is being traded.
For every new piece of software written to connect people on the internet, there are software bots causing hyper fragmentation of communities.
The list goes on.
There are two things certain in life and that’s tech and taxes.
With the advancements in biotech, death might not be inevitable. There are multimillionaires on the path of biohacking, searching for the health “escape velocity” to eternal consciousness.
What happens when a select few have the resources to keep living forever. What does that look like?
What tax do we collectively have to pay?
When death is in question, at this point, there are two things certain in life: tech and taxes.
2. Understanding Externalities
I was seating in my microeconomics class when I learned about externalities.
I didn’t fully understand the concept, explained with intersecting demand and supply curves, so I raised my hand and asked the professor: “I’m just an engineer, can you explain this in simpler words?”
He said: “Ah. You’re an engineer, right?”
Excitedly, he turned around, wiped off the right side of the board, and started drawing out differential equations.
In my head, I was like: “bruh, you are making matters worse.”
Once he was done, he turned and asked: “understood?”
I said “yes.” I lied. I was more confused.
The reason tech and taxes are so separated is because the taxes come in the form of externalities.
In economics, an externality is an indirect cost or benefit that affects a third party as a result of another party’s actions.
You don’t see it on your tax forms.
There’s no line item that shows the consequences of your actions.
There’s no clear line that shows how your actions in Palo Alto affect people in Indonesia.
It just sips through.
These are invisible taxes.
You have to be hyper aware to pick up on them.
Because there are two things certain in life: tech and taxes.
3. The storytelling technology
“Oh, I’m not political”
That’s what some people say. Not realizing that in itself, is a political statement.
Politics is everywhere. At work, when you go to the grocery store, at the park, in your family, and of course when you choose to vote (or not) for politicians.
You can’t separate yourself from politics. That’s like separating yourself from life.
It’s like saying “oh, I’m not economical” when you have bills to pay.
Tech and taxes is politics.
However, the most engaging politics happens through dialogue and this can only happen when you are curious about and empathize with people’s experiences. That’s why the most important technology to nurture is one of our earliests: storytelling.
Stories help us coordinate to build better solutions.
When you hear someone’s story, you create the room for emotional reciprocity. It makes us more interconnected. You begin to pay attention to whatever tech or solution you build. Through stories you have a broader sense of the “tax implications” and externalities across borders, communities, and policies.
There’s no escaping tech and taxes.
Broaden your horizon, learn the most important technology, storytelling and build emotional intelligence.
Final thoughts….
Humans are fine-tuned to create new tools and technology.
There’s always a tax with new technology.
Develop a broader awareness of these two sides of the coin through curiosity, empathy, and sharing stories to foster dialogue.
Because whatever your politics is, there are two things certain in life, tech and taxes.
Yours truly,
Nifemi.
P.S. My latest book, Musta’s Mixtape, touches on the implications of tech and taxes in a futuristic tale. Get it here if you haven’t read it already.
