July 30, 2024 – In a candid conversation between tech giants, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed his dissatisfaction with “closed” application ecosystems such as Apple’s during a dialogue with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang on July 29th.
The discussion, which initially began on a conciliatory note with both billionaires congratulating each other on their respective dominance in the AI field, gradually shifted to the controversial topic of open source versus closed source. Zuckerberg dedicated a significant portion of the talk to his grievances against closed ecosystems like the Apple App Store.
In a passionate speech, Zuckerberg went so far as to use profanity, stating, “I think closed platforms are somewhat selfish. After building this company [Meta] for some time, one thing I want to do in the next 10 or 15 years is to ensure that we can build the fundamental technology for the social experiences we want to create. When I want to build something and the platform providers tell me, ‘No, you can’t really build it,’ at some point, I just want to say, ‘Nah, fuck that.'”
Zuckerberg’s frustration with closed platforms was palpable, as he continued, “It makes me angry to even talk about closed platforms. We should have the freedom to innovate and create without being restricted by these walled gardens.”
Huang, who has been a strong advocate for open source technology, nodded in agreement, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and openness in driving technological progress.
The conversation between the two tech leaders highlighted the growing tensions between open and closed ecosystems in the technology industry, with Zuckerberg’s comments reflecting a wider sentiment among developers and innovators who feel restricted by the limitations of closed platforms.
