Zuckerberg ’s resolution? Meet more Americans in the new year
After ‘tumultuous’ time, Facebook CEO to visit 30 states in ’17
Mark ZuckerSAN FRANCIS CO berg ’s New Year’s resolution: to connect with more Americans in an effort to mend societal divisions wrought by the twin forces of technology and globalization.
The Facebook CEO said Tuesday his personal challenge for 2017 is to have visited and met people in every state by the end of the year. That means he will travel to about 30 states in 2017, according to a Facebook post.
“After a tumultuous last year, my hope for this challenge is to get out and talk to more people about how they’re living, working and thinking about the future,” Zuckerberg wrote in the post.
This is the latest personal challenge Zuckerberg has given himself. In previous years, he has built artificial intelligence for his home, learned Mandarin, read 25 books and ran 365 miles.
With this challenge, Zuckerberg is wading into a national debate over the societal impact of technology and Silicon Valley’s disconnect with big segments of its users. The technology boom has created massive wealth and high-paying jobs in tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, but technological advances and increased automation have destroyed jobs elsewhere.
Zuckerberg ’s company, Facebook, is at the forefront of an in- dustry-wide push into artificial intelligence that could propel more advances and threaten more jobs. A recent White House report says new technologies that increase productivity and efficiency by automating tasks performed by workers could wipe out millions of jobs.
“Going into this challenge, it seems we are at a turning point in history. For decades, technology and globalization have made us more productive and connected. This has created many benefits, but for a lot of people it has also made life more challenging,” Zuckerberg wrote. “This has contributed to a greater sense of division than I have felt in my lifetime. We need to find a way to change the game so it works for everyone.”
Hearing from Americans in different states will help him in his work at Facebook and in his philanthropic endeavor, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Zuckerberg said.
Zuckerberg plans to take road trips with wife Priscilla Chan, make stops in small towns and at universities, visit Facebook offices and meet with teachers and scientists.
He also plans to get recommendations from Facebook users of places to go.