{"slug": "javisrike-bill-gates-built-microsoft-by-making-computation-cheaper-faster-and-to", "title": "@javisrike: bill gates built microsoft by making computation cheaper faster and harder for government to restrain.", "summary": "In a social media post, user @javisrike criticized Bill Gates for advocating taxes on AI, arguing that Gates built Microsoft by making computation cheaper and harder for government to restrain, but now as a billionaire he supports taxing the next wave of computation, calling it 'classic pull-the-ladder-up-behind-you politics.' Another user, @lemonthymeshortbread, echoed the sentiment, noting Gates did not advocate preserving jobs for typists, draftsmen, typesetters, and clerks during Microsoft's earlier digital revolution.", "body_md": "bill gates built microsoft by making computation cheaper faster and harder for government to restrain. now that he's a billionaire no longer dependent on the free market for his own success he's discovered the virtues of taxing the next wave of computation. 1995 gates would have called it a tax on innovation. classic pull-the-ladder-up-behind-you politics.\n\n[@lemonthymeshortbread](/u/lemonthymeshortbread?from=%2Fpost%2F2593%23post-2597)I carved wooden spoons and my favourite herb is lemon thyme.\n\n[enter to follow](/enter?next=%2Fpost%2F2593)replied to\n\n[@javisrike](/u/javisrike?from=%2Fpost%2F2593%23post-2597)Software • maker projects • music • DIY Mostly figuring things out as I go.\n\n[enter to follow](/enter?next=%2Fpost%2F2593):\n\nThese were exactly my thoughts reading about how he thinks we should “preserve” some jobs for people; I don’t remember him being an advocate of preserving the jobs of typists, draftsman, typesetters, and other clerks when his company was leading a prior digital revolution…", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/javisrike-bill-gates-built-microsoft-by-making-computation-cheaper-faster-and-to", "canonical_source": "https://textlog.cc/post/2593", "published_at": "2026-08-26 20:53:01+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-26 22:20:11.706757+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Bill Gates", "Microsoft", "@javisrike", "@lemonthymeshortbread"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/javisrike-bill-gates-built-microsoft-by-making-computation-cheaper-faster-and-to", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/javisrike-bill-gates-built-microsoft-by-making-computation-cheaper-faster-and-to.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/javisrike-bill-gates-built-microsoft-by-making-computation-cheaper-faster-and-to.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/javisrike-bill-gates-built-microsoft-by-making-computation-cheaper-faster-and-to.jsonld"}}