The thing Sam Altman could have done, and still could do, that would have by far the most impact in this and similar crises, is support the adoption of universal health coverage and sick leave policies, as well as financial assistance for those devastated by these shutdowns.
Startups are cool. But to the extent the Silicon Valley community has fought against a social safety net and effective public sector they’re part of the problem.
Not singling him out specifically here as my understanding is that he actually has done some political work along those lines, but the first sentence here implies that investing in startups is the only thing he knows how to do. That rings false.
He’s very wealthy and powerful. He has enormous influence over people who set employee policies at important companies and has the ear of world leaders.[0]
There’s many things he could do that are much more effective than investing in startups.