E64: Antitrust standards & enforcement, tech repricing, lab leak obfuscation, E63 reactions & more

**Jason Calacanis** (0:00)
Is Chamath in a room with his PR crew right now, like, rehearsing and practicing and...

**David Sacks** (0:05)
This pod is ruined.

**Chamath Palihapitiya** (0:47)
Thanks for watching! Hey, everybody. So I just wanted to make sure based on last week's pod, it was absolutely clear. I care about human rights. Many of you know my origin story, but for those of you that don't, I was born in a country that's no stranger to civil war and religious and political persecution. Growing up, my family and I felt those effects. It affected our safety. It's in part what led my family to file for refugee status and stay in Canada. So this is a real part of my lived experience. That said, I realized that what I said last week lacked empathy, particularly towards others who are dealing with persecution, in this case, the Uighurs. Based on what I read this week, I think what's happening to them in Western China is a terrible situation.
I also want to talk about this idea about nobody caring. Look, if we take a step back and replace Uighur with other really important issues, like the conflict in Yemen, the potential war in the Ukraine, gun control, school shootings, healthcare equity, we're faced with horrible events every day.
However, the unfortunate state of the world today is that we've also normalized this routine of being confronted with something tragic or horrible or unjust and being allowed to react with thoughts and prayers. This was the real intent of what I was trying to get across. So when I talk about my line, it's not about whether something matters or not. It's about which issues, of all the important issues we face every day, where I have the expertise and I believe I have the ability to have a real impact even if just by a little.
For me, those areas happen to be climate change, life sciences and deep tech. But just because this is where I spend my time, it's not to take away from any of the real work any of you are doing in other areas.
And then lastly, I just wanted to explain to people who may be new to the pod because of last week, that this is a place where four of us, four friends, talk about a whole wide range of things. We explore our curiosities. We try to learn from each other. We challenge each other. But we've always done it in a really supportive space. And I hope you keep that in mind as you listen and watch going forward.
And hopefully you can bring some of that to your own conversations. That's all I have to say.

**Jason Calacanis** (2:33)
Well said.

**Jason Calacanis** (2:35)
Sacks, I mean, I know you have something to say, but I'll say I got a lot of messages this past week after the show, which I felt a little bit hurt by and mischaracterized. And maybe it was simply I said the wrong thing at the wrong time.
And so I want to just be very clear about a couple of points if I can take a minute. That's all right with you guys. Yeah. So I said I just wanted to, I was going to actually send this out on Twitter and I decided it was better just to address it on the pod. So to be clear, I strongly believe in and support absolute freedom of all people. And this means de facto, I strongly disagree with the suppression of free speech, denial of religious freedom, imprisonment, harm, capital punishment, slavery, and genocide.
I thought this was obvious when we were having our conversation.

**Jason Calacanis** (3:24)
I did not know I needed to be- So to be clear, you're not in favor of genocide.

**Jason Calacanis** (3:27)
I'm not in favor of genocide. I'm not in favor of slavery or capital punishment or suppression of religious freedom.
I thought this was obvious. The conversation I tried to have was the wrong conversation at the wrong time, which was to try to talk about the broader China v US narrative that is swelling and will continue to swell this decade. I think that the primary function of civilized society or any advanced social system is to take care of and protect those that cannot take care of or protect themselves. And this is usually done by government. But when government fails and government is in fact the oppressor, I think it is the responsibility of other governments and other peoples to step in and have a voice and to take action.
And so that is, that is kind of my moral framework. I think it's important. I don't deny any of the harm being done to the Uyghur population in China. I don't agree with it on a principle basis. And I don't think that what the Chinese government is doing is right.