The jobs lost to technology won't be brought back by putting up walls — so we need to embrace the future, Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Wednesday.
"I do understand some of the Trump support — a lot of people are angry, frustrated, feel like they've been left behind by globalization, digitization. They're fearful of the future," Case said. "But I don't think you can move backwards. I don't think you can just put up walls. I don't think the jobs that we have lost are going to come back."
Case publicly backed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the Washington Post late last month, citing her more extensive agenda on technology and economic issues.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has suggested reviving manufacturing jobs in the U.S. by renegotiating trade deals and tariffs with areas that are commonly associated with outsourcing, and building a wall on the Mexican border. Meanwhile, Trump has previously called for "immigration moderation," including raising wages to limit H-1B visas, a strategy he said would improve the representation of black, Hispanic and female workers in Silicon Valley.
Industries like manufacturing and agriculture will likely be disrupted by technology, the way they were during the industrial revolution, Case said. He said entrepreneurs must attack new solutions in industries like health care, food, energy, education and transportation.
"We've got to keep leaning into the future. We've go to figure out what the jobs, what the industries of the future are," Case said.
Case also spoke at Vanity Fair's 2016 New Establishment Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, inspired by "figures who are setting the global agenda and leading the Age of Innovation." Case is the author of "The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future."
"The third wave is going to be integrating the internet in more seamless ways throughout our lives," Case said. "But it's not going to just happen in Silicon Valley. It's going to happen all over the country. And trying to promote more regional entrepreneurship, and give everybody everywhere a shot at building a company — a shot at the American dream — is one way to deal with that."