TechtechnologyBill GatesBill Gates Foundation

Bill Gates Criticizes Google's Project Loon, Silicon Valley Space Entrepreneurs

Bill Gates Thinks He's A Better Billionaire Than Other Billionaires (And He May Be Right)
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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 07: Bill Gates , co-chairman and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks during an event sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation at the Mellon Auditorium May 7, 2013 in Washington, DC. The two participated in a discussion entitled 'Shaping America's Future: Major Trends, New Ideas and Big Decisions.' (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published Thursday, Bill Gates criticized tech companies for doing charity work more focused on technological gimmickry than helping the poor.

Gates was asked about Google's Project Loon, an effort to bring broadband to developing countries by floating transmitters on balloons. "When you’re dying of malaria, I suppose you’ll look up and see that balloon, and I’m not sure how it’ll help you. When a kid gets diarrhea, no, there’s no website that relieves that," Gates said.

Google's Project Loon has been criticized as an attempt to increase market share. In an article published in the MIT Technology Review, African entrepreneurs described why they thought the project was ill-conceived, with one noting that the problem isn't connectivity, it's the high price of smartphones and computers.

Later in the Bloomberg interview, Gates took on tech moguls who devote their money to exploring space. The billionaire said he saw no connection between what Silicon Valley space entrepreneurs do and "improving the state of humanity": "I guess [space exploration is] fun, because you shoot rockets up in the air. But it’s not an area that I’ll be putting money into."

The Seattle Times reported in 2012 on Jeff Bezos' creation of a company to make space travel cheaper. Bezos was also investing $42 million in a clock that would run for 10,000 years, the Seattle Times reported.

The Gates Foundation works to alleviate extreme poverty and poor health in developing countries, among other initiatives.

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Before You Go

11 Techie Charities
Wikipedia.org(01 of11)
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All the world's knowledge on one little website. Pretty cool, isn't it? Wikipedia is the world's fifth largest website, but it operates as a nonprofit. Each year, the site posts large (at times, distracting) banners urging users to donate and keep the site "online for another year.""With 450 million monthly users, we have costs like any top site: servers, power, rent, programs, staff and legal help," the posts read in part. Donate here. (credit:Wikipedia.org)
Electronic Frontier Foundation(02 of11)
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Worried about new net-restricting laws but not yet ready to go all Assange? Well, head over to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and fight for Internet freedom with an organization that was around before most people knew the Internet existed. Started by John Perry Barlow (you know, the guy who wrote the "Declaration Of The Independence Of Cyberspace", this organization has a stellar track record of protecting our 'net freedoms -- and is even now fighting for more.Donate here. (credit:EFF)
One Laptop Per Child(03 of11)
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Nick Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child has thus far donated 1.84 million laptops and tablet devices to (you guessed it) 1.84 million kids around the world. The gadgets are small, inexpensive (about $200 each) and designed to be kid-friendly. Earlier this year it was reported that illiterate Ethiopian kids given OPLC laptops with no instructions learned on their own --within five months -- not only how to use the devices, but how to hack the Android OS powering the devices. Brilliant!Donate here. (credit:OLPC)
Code For America(04 of11)
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This Peace Corps for code geeks connects government workers and technologists to refurbish old systems, create civic software and apps and generally make the government work better. Good old institutional competence -- remember that? Code For America makes it more than just a memory. Donate here. (credit:Public Domain via the Examiner)
Child's Play(05 of11)
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A perennial geek favorite, Child's Play delivers toys and video games to hospital-bound children. Founded by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, author and illustrator of acclaimed webcomic "Penny Arcade", the charity combats hospital gloom, and works to dispel the myth that gamers are unilaterally antisocial. Donate here. (credit:Child's Play)
FIRST(06 of11)
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FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) turns kids onto science and technology by running robotics contests, sponsoring techie projects, shelling out for scholarships and mentoring the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)-inclined. Got a kid who loves Transformers? You might want to consider a donation. Donate here. (credit:FIRST)
TechAccess(07 of11)
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People of color are already underrepresented in STEM fields -- and given how many children of color are currently living in low-income low-education districts, the gap appears to be growing. TechAccess looks to tackle the persistent "color gap" by giving tech access and tech education to kids in minority-heavy, lower-income districts. The programs have a college focus, and students from the program's new TAF Academy partnerships have matriculated at colleges and universities like Bard and Xavier. Donate here. (credit:Jolkona.org)
Barefoot College(08 of11)
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Barefoot College gives women in underdeveloped communities a job and a technical education while saving the environment. Here's how it works: women from underdeveloped villages, many of which don't have electricity, are taught to become solar engineers by Barefoot College staff. These women then can electrify their villages with panels, cookers, solar lanterns and more. They can also sell the devices they make to others in the village. Like it? Donate here. (credit:wikia.org)
The Planetary Society(09 of11)
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Always wanted to explore space? How about on solar sails? The Planetary Society advocates space exploration, and counts among its members Bill Nye and Carl Sagan. Not a charity for the faint of heart, the organization plans to launch a solar-sail powered spacecraft later this year. Donate here. (credit:NASA)
Benetech(10 of11)
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Human rights violations? There's an app for that. Benetech creates software and web-based programs for environmental, literacy and social justice advocates around the world. Donate to these guys every day you wish the world's do-gooders were better-endowed and watch your wishful thinking become reality. Donate here. (credit:Benetech)
Architecture For Humanity(11 of11)
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Thought good design was Apple-only? Think again. Designers at Architecture For Humanity spend their lives innovating and designing for at-risk communities around the world -- those refurbishing after natural disasters and those that have always been in need. The best part? Their designs are amazing. Check out their lovely Amazon-available photobook, "Design Like You Give A Damn," for details. Donate here. (credit:Architecture For Humanity)
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