Maybe it’s naïve to start a company to do more than make money. Maybe it’s arrogant to want to change the world. Still, the skills used to make a million-user iPhone game can also be used to make a toolbox for the supporters of a political candidate, or to help people with special needs. Our bright future has been hijacked by absurd greed and petty bickering. The information war and climate change have become impossible to ignore. Rich people have started building massive yachts. The internet got mean. The rising pressure to sell out or get beat up makes it hard not to become cynical or depressed. When others consider a problem unsolvable, engineers break them down into smaller problems until a team of experts and the necessary materials can be brought together to craft a solution. We have the power, as the creative class, to stand up and take responsibility for the future we are building. We have the power to achieve our potential, to live up to our dreams. We have the power to tackle planet-scale problems.

This talk was recorded at AltConf 2015. Watch all the videos!