How the ideology of tech billionaires has spread
A research project at the University of Oldenburg will investigate the ideological origins and dynamics of the "Tech Right" in digital environments, using a new methodology.
Entrepreneurs and investors from Silicon Valley wield a great deal of influence in US politics – with global consequences. Yet there has been little research to date into how their anti-liberal, techno-optimistic worldview developed. Now, a team led by two researchers from the University of Oldenburg, philosopher Prof. Dr Anna-Verena Nosthoff and political scientist Prof. Dr Marius Sältzer, will use a new methodology to explore the phenomenon, combining theoretical analyses with an empirical study of online media and forums. The research project “Mapping the Ideological Online Dynamics of the Tech Right: Tracing the Evolution, Influence, and Normalisation of Silicon Valley’s Neo-Reactionary Thought” will receive a grant of 320,000 euros over an 18-month period through the Volkswagen Foundation funding initiative “Aufbruch – New Research Spaces for the Humanities and Cultural Studies”.
In their project, Nosthoff and Sältzer aim to investigate how the key ideologies within the group often referred to as the “Tech Right” or “technofascists” emerged and how its leading figures have been able to normalise their extremist, at times contradictory and anti-democratic ideas – and thus exert influence in the real world. To this end, the researchers will combine various approaches, drawing on fields such as political theory, ideology theory and empirical social sciences. “These complex currents of thought partly defy conventional ideological categorisation and are highly dynamic. They pose challenges for ideology research, which is why we chose a multi-perspective approach,” explains Nosthoff, Assistant Professor of Ethics of Digitalisation and Co-Director of the Critical Data Lab, which is based in Berlin and Oldenburg.
To demonstrate how tech ideologies have spread across digital spaces, the Oldenburg-based researchers plan to employ both AI language models and interpretative theoretical methods to analyse large volumes of text taken from online media platforms such as Reddit, 4chan, Telegram and X semi-automatically. “Because online text sources contain comments, quotes and links, this approach will allow us to uncover network structures and ideological interconnections,” explains Sältzer, Junior Professor for Digital Social Science at the University of Oldenburg. The researchers’ main goal will be to trace the development dynamics of tech ideologies over time as closely as possible.
The Volkswagen Foundation’s funding initiative “Aufbruch – New Research Spaces for the Humanities and Cultural Studies” seeks to support projects of a “pioneering character” that explore new research topics. The Foundation aims to encourage creative, bold and inquisitive researchers to pursue unconventional ideas, take risks and contribute to solving major, science-driven challenges by asking unorthodox questions and employing experimental approaches.
Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Prof. Dr Marius Saeltzer, e-mail: marius.saeltzer@uol.de, phone: +49 441 798-2635;
Prof. Dr Anna-Verena Nosthoff, e-mail: anna-verena.nosthoff@uol.de, phone: +49 441 798-4794
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