The National Design Studio Is a Scam

Summary

The National Design Studio is a Scam Joe Gebbia has no business designing government services. President Trump’s appointment of AirBnB co-founder Joe Gebbia as “Chief Design Officer” of the United States is a sickening travesty. It not only proves a fundamental misunderstanding of both design and governance, but an unbound commitment to corruption. Gebbia’s directive to make government services “as satisfying to use as the Apple Store” within three years might serve as an appealing soundbyte, but it quickly collapses under the slightest scrutiny: why? how? with what design army? The creation of the so-called National Design Studio and Gebbia’s appointment as its chief should raise serious questions about credentials, institutional destruction, and continued corruption. Design by Regulatory Arbitrage Gebbia’s reputation in design rests on a shaky foundation. AirBnB’s present dominance isn’t the product of real innovation. He and his friends stumbled upon an idea after listing their apartment on Craigslist for under-the-table sublease during a popular conference. They realized money could be made, and built a website to let other people do the same thing, through them, not Craig. This is important: the very first act of creation was an act of piracy. What AirBnB does today is no different, other than the legitimization that comes with enough capital. The innovation here was collusion: spend enough to ensure that regulatory enforcement costs more; spin enough to make theft look heroic. With Y-Combinator as a launchpad, the company rapidly built its business by systematically ignoring well-established regulations in hospitality and real estate. This sounds like a perfect match for the Trump Administration, and it’s why I cannot take any of Gebbia’s commitments now at face value. His formative business experience taught him to break existing systems rather than designing better ones, and for that he was rewarded beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations. True design requires ...