In a candid address to the tech world, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak delivered a wide-ranging critique touching on three critical areas — tech executives like Elon Musk stepping into politics, the evolution of AI and how big tech’s subscription models are reshaping user relationships.
Speaking to hundreds of attendees at Barcelona’s Talent Arena developers fair today (which runs alongside the Mobile World Congress), the 74-year-old engineering pioneer offered a unique perspective as someone who helped launch the personal computing revolution — and didn’t mince words about executives like Musk stepping into government roles.
“I think that the skills required in politics are very different to those skills needed in technology companies,” Wozniak stated emphatically. He believes “it does make sense to run a government like a business,” but added, “I don’t see that happening in the case of Elon Musk” — referring to the Tesla CEO who now leads President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Apple co-founder, who stepped away from the company he started with Steve Jobs in 1976 long before it became today’s trillion-dollar giant, also emphasized the fundamental differences in leadership approaches.
“When you run a business, you look for a consensus and a sharing,” Wozniak explained. “If half your employees feel one way and half the other way, you negotiate, you compromise.” This collaborative approach, he suggested, stands in stark contrast to what he perceives as Musk’s style of wiping the slate clean and starting fresh — a strategy he believes is ill-suited for government.
Wozniak’s comments come at a pivotal moment in the relationship between Silicon Valley and Washington. The boundaries between the tech industry and government have become increasingly blurred during the Trump administration’s second term, with several tech leaders taking formal and informal roles.
Most notably, Musk’s appointment to head DOGE has given the world’s richest man unprecedented influence over federal government operations. Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor, has also maintained close ties to the administration.
This trend marks a significant evolution from the traditional lobbying approach that tech companies have historically employed. While Wozniak acknowledged that technology businesses have “always” hired lobbyists to exert political influence, he views direct governmental roles as a concerning development.
AI Skepticism: Trust the Intelligence, Not the Artificial
Elsewhere, Wozniak also touched on AI, expressing a nuanced position that separates the technology’s capabilities from its limitations.
“I trust the I, but not the A,” he quipped, suggesting confidence in intelligence while remaining skeptical about artificial systems. While acknowledging AI will provide “a lot of ideas and directions on how to proceed,” he emphasized that AI lacks human emotional capacity.
Wozniak also raised concerns about AI’s potential for misuse, particularly regarding misinformation. “AI can trick you into things,” he warned, adding that blindly trusting AI output makes one vulnerable to manipulation.
The Subscription Economy’s Hidden Costs
Wozniak’s critique extended to address fundamental shifts in how technology companies now operate, by expressing nostalgia for an earlier computing era when ownership was straightforward.
“When Apple started, it was you who would set up your computer and it was all of your own work,” he reflected. “But after the internet came, now you have to subscribe, subscribe and subscribe to everything and once you have subscribed, you still do not own it.”
This shift toward subscription models represents a profound change in the relationship between tech companies and their users. The Apple co-founder lamented how major tech companies have become “very big and they own our lives,” pointing to cloud dependence as particularly problematic. “The cloud is a problem as before you were able to protect your work, but now you need to trust” companies with your creations.
As the tech industry continues to evolve and exert growing influence across all aspects of society, Wozniak’s perspective serves as a valuable counterbalance from someone who helped launch the personal computing revolution, but seemingly maintained enough distance to critically evaluate its trajectory.
His comments also underscore the need for thoughtful consideration of appropriate boundaries between technology, business and government power — a conversation that will likely intensify as digital platforms become increasingly central to both economic and political systems worldwide.
