At SXSW, Tech Leaders Talk About Walking a Tightrope With Trump

AUSTIN -- After shock and hand-wringing over President Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, leaders in the Silicon Valley and other U.S. tech hubs have been trying to decode where his administration is headed on everything from trade and immigration to self-driving cars.At this year’s South by Southwest, many of the participants and panelists tried to predict how the tech industry may fare in the next four years. The election outcome has sparked reflection among tech executives, employees and lobbyists about how technology is accelerating economic change and how in some cases, it’s created social silos. Trump’s victory has also challenged tech execs as they try to figure out how to walk the tightrope of working with the Trump administration, even as his policies polarize their employees and customers."Trump was definitely a disruptive candidate for an industry that rewards disruption," said Tiffany Moore, who leads lobbying on Capitol Hill for the Consumer Technology Association, the group that puts on giant annual CES technology trade show, at a SXSW policy panel.But some in the tech industry see a silver lining if Trump follows through with plans for new infrastructure and corporate tax reform and takes a strategic approach to immigration reform.   Continue reading...