Reid Hoffman Wants Silicon Valley to ‘Stand Up’ Against the Trump Administration
Reid Hoffman doesn’t do it doing many things in half measures. He, of course, co-founded LinkedIn and helped fund companies like Meta and Airbnb when they were getting started. He has also fashioned himself, through books, podcasts, and other public appearances, as a kind of public intellectual—a procapitalist philosopher who still insists that technology can be a force for good.
More recently, Hoffman has become one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent advocates of artificial intelligence. His latest book, 2025 Superagencyargues that AI will not diminish human capabilities, but amplify them. In our conversation for this week’s episode of The Big Interview, Hoffman easily touched on the usefulness of AI for just about everything, whether you’re looking for a research assistant or a second opinion on your blood tests. Hoffman even relied on AI to create one of the most unconventional — and perhaps uncomfortable, depending on your view of AI-generated creativity — Christmas gifts I’ve heard about recently. (And no, he didn’t buy me any.)
Whatever you think of Hoffman’s utopian views on AI, it must be acknowledged: he is also a very vocal critic of President Trump – a rare trait in a technological world that has become increasingly calm, or comfortable, when it comes to the cruelties of the US administration. Hoffman’s overt political views have not been without consequences: Trump has twice threatened investigations against him, most recently calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Hoffman’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. (In 2019, Hoffman apologized for his relationship with Epstein in the mid-2010s, which he said was related solely to fundraising for MIT. He later called on the government to release Epstein’s records in full.)
Despite these threats, Hoffman isn’t pulling any punches: When we recorded this episode in mid-December, he readily denounced the administration for degrading American government, criticized his peers for keeping their heads down, and urged Silicon Valley to stop pretending that neutrality is a virtue. If only more billionaires said it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
KATIE DRUMMOND: Reid Hoffman, welcome to The Big Interview. I’m so happy to have you here.
REID HOFFMAN: I’m happy to be here.
We like to start these conversations with very quick questions. Little warm-up. Are you ready?
Great!
Voice memo or SMS?
Text message.
Cooperative games or competitive games?
Cooperative games.
The biggest difference between you and Elon Musk?
Mental health.
What is the hardest lesson you have ever had to learn?
Oh my God, there are a lot of them. Probably when to give up.
Who would you like to see run for president in 2028?
Mental health.
The reason for the president.
Yes, exactly. You know, it’s funny, I probably can’t give a good answer to that question. I mean, the people I would run for president probably won’t do it.
Oh, that’s too bad.
Yes.
Can’t pronounce their names?
Since I tried to persuade them to do it, I think it’s probably rude.
I’m fascinated. Next time we talk, I’m going to force you to tell me. What is your personal, exceptional use case for AI?
Well, I just generated a Christmas album as a Christmas present for all my friends.
I guess they all know it’s AI-generated music?
Yes. And it’s on the records. We recorded it on records.
So it comes from your heart to the AI…
Yes.
…to their Christmas tree.
I always wanted to have Christmas music that had both irony and affection for the holidays. So there’s a song about ugly sweaters and, you know, all that kind of stuff. Unlike “Merry Merry Christmas,” you know, something that actually has some humor to it. Almost like what “Weird Al” Yankovic would do if he made a Christmas album.
