Mark Zuckerberg’s Ambitions Are Bigger Than You Think

Nick Bilton: “Over the years, I’ve spent some time with Zuckerberg, and I always got the feeling that he truly believed there wasn’t a problem that technology couldn’t solve… Lately, however, it appears that he has realized that there is another darker side to all of this technology.”

“Zuckerberg’s greatest challenge is that his profound wealth and success have made it far harder to understand what aggrieves most Americans. They aren’t just worried about what Trump will do to our country — or whether our planet is overheating, or if we’re playing a short-sighted game of chicken with the North Koreans, or if the Democrats (or Republicans) have any viable alternatives — but they are also worried about how they will be able to pay for their kids to go to college, or for winter clothes, or, in some cases, for the very next meal.”

“And yet, at the same time, his skills and experience have put him in a rare position to remedy so much of what ails us. As he evidenced at Harvard, Zuckerberg appears aware of these existential fears. But the big question that hangs over his head — and it’s the one that will determine not only whether he could win elected office, but also what kind of company Facebook becomes — is whether he can solve them. And if Zuckerberg’s actions say anything, that is exactly what he’s thinking about right now.”