My Question for Warren and Charlie: Value Creation vs Value Capture in Innovation Investment

I had the fantastic opportunity to attend the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting and hear from the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, and his entertaining, timeless side-kick, Charlie Munger! What I received was a load of multi-generational/sector business wisdom, an "answer" to my question, and a contradiction/challenge that I am still resolving:

My Question: Value Creation vs Value Capture: Shifting the Mentality of Investors in Innovation

Much of the wealth is concentrated with those that have already made their money and the prevailing theme in that population, and those that advise them, is to invest in well diversified safe holdings that will conservatively tick higher with minimal risk. These holdings are generally in companies that too already hold a strong position and often pass the upside to their shareholders by squeezing the margin through value capture. This is understandable, but limited in scope over time. It places the opportunity for future growth at risk.

At the same time, future technologies, like those from research universities, face a capital and support gap (Valley of Death) that can at best slow but often halt the emergence of new opportunities that can create jobs and lead to real value creation for future generations. A gap that is being further exacerbated by the value capture mentality.

What real steps can be taken and challenges overcome to entice those that have made money to re-invest into a value creation mentality that may deliver more social good (not ROI) in the near term, but lead to new breakthroughs that can set future generations up for the same success that they were afforded? 

While I wasn't lucky enough to get on the mic, I was happy to hear the gist of this question asked many times. Unfortunately, Warren's answers to the role of the most wealthy and powerful in innovation were the longest-winded and discombobulated of the day, but they make sense for how he views things.

My read of his comments was that he view of innovation is value capture. Innovation, like AI and robotics, leads to efficiencies in this companies, that through an increase in output and job cuts lead to higher profitability. In his words, "Increased profitability in production leads to increased consumption".

That is where he lost me.

Simple supply-demand leaves me to wonder how even a fully efficient/profitable production process/business could supply and increase consumption in a population with decreasing buying power, due to the expected job loss in this scenario (without significant increased in public support and more burden on those that will pay into that system)? This system is also controlled and better for entrenched companies. Its a rabbit hole that I do not want to go down here, but hoping that some of you have some perspective.

To me, this is why, now more than ever, it becomes important for us to change this ingrained value capture mentality to that of a value creation mentality in investors and the general public that, through innovation, can create new industry, competition, jobs, and buying power for all.

Resolving and balancing this VC challenge is a major opportunity to all of us in the innovation space.