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- 15 de Jul, 2022
Austin, Texas was turned into a tech city because a former member of the CIA saw Japan’s ambitions to create artificial intelligence as a threat and wanted an American city to be a tech hub. They chose Austin because of the affordability and UT Austin’s commitment to provide talent in that field. From the New Yorker (Archive):
Austin’s future was determined in January, 1983, when Admiral Bob Inman, recently retired from the Navy and from serving as the deputy director of the C.I.A., was selected to head a novel consortium called the Microelectronics and Computer Consortium.
Japan dominated the semiconductor-manufacturing industry at the time and had announced an ambitious effort to create computers capable of generating artificial intelligence. The Reagan Administration saw this as a serious threat, and M.C.C. was the response.
The team was impressed by Austin’s quality of life and affordability. Employees moving to the area were promised reduced mortgage rates. What clinched the deal was the university’s commitment to provide a reliable stream of talent.