It s not a manifesto from the Occupy Wall Street movement.
But an open letter from tech leaders about spreading the wealth born from technological advances may count as radical in Silicon Valley.
Written by a group of venture capitalists, such as Steve Jurvetson and Vinod Khosla, as well as Carl Bass, the CEO of Autodesk, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, and others, the letter argues that policy makers and companies need to take steps to shape the world rather than sit back and worry that robots are eating the jobs.
They propose policy areas for improvement, in the areas of education, trade and taxes, as well as research on the social and economic implications of the digital revolution.
But companies, themselves a powerful innovation, should play a role:
We call on business leaders to develop new organizational models and approaches that not only enhance productivity and generate wealth but also create broad-based opportunity. The goal should be inclusive prosperity.
The group came together, the Wall Street Journal said, to brainstorm the issues. Its sentiment runs counter to those who argue that individuals benefit from machines doing more work, and that better jobs await those who are made redundant by technology.
The Open Letter writers conclude:
In summary, we believe that the digital revolution is delivering an unprecedented set of tools for bolstering growth and productivity, creating wealth, and improving the world. But we can only create a society of shared prosperity if we update our policies, organizations and research to seize the opportunities and address the challenges brought by these tools.
Above: Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)