Palantir Posts Mini-manifesto Denouncing Inclusivity And ‘regressive’ Cultures

Surveillance and analytics institution Palantir recently posted what it called a “brief” 22-point summary of CEO Alexander Karp’s book “The Technological Republic.”

Written by Karp and Palantir’s caput of firm affairs Nicholas Zamiska, “The Technological Republic” was published past year and described by its authors arsenic “the beginnings of nan articulation of nan theory” down Palantir’s work. (One professional said it was “not a book astatine all, but a portion of firm income material.”)

The company’s ideological bent has travel nether much scrutiny since then, arsenic tech manufacture figures person debated Palantir’s activity pinch Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and arsenic nan institution has positioned itself arsenic an statement moving for nan defense of “the West.”

In fact, legislature Democrats recently sent a missive to ICE and nan Department of Homeland Security demanding much accusation astir really devices built by Palantir and “a scope of surveillance companies” are being utilized successful nan Trump administration’s fierce deportation strategy.

Palantir’s station doesn’t reference overmuch of that discourse directly, simply saying that it’s providing nan summary “because we get asked a lot.” It past suggests that “Silicon Valley owes a civilized indebtedness to nan state that made its emergence possible” and declares that “free email is not enough.”

“The decadence of a civilization aliases civilization, and so its ruling class, will beryllium forgiven only if that civilization is tin of delivering economical maturation and information for nan public,” nan institution says.

The station is wide-ranging, astatine 1 constituent criticizing a civilization that “almost snickers astatine [Elon] Musk’s liking successful expansive narrative” and astatine different constituent rubbing connected caller debates astir the usage of artificial intelligence by nan military.

“The mobility is not whether A.I. weapons will beryllium built; it is who will build them and for what purpose,” Palantir says. “Our adversaries will not region to indulge successful theatrical debates astir nan merits of processing technologies pinch captious subject and nationalist information applications. They will proceed.”

Similarly, nan institution suggests that “the atomic property is ending,” while “a caller era of deterrence built connected A.I. is group to begin.”

The station besides takes a infinitesimal to denounce nan “postwar neutering of Germany and Japan,” adding that nan “defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a dense price” and that “a akin and highly theatrical committedness to Japanese pacifism” could “threaten to displacement nan equilibrium of powerfulness successful Asia.” 

The station ends by criticizing “the shallow enticement of a vacant and hollow pluralism.” In Palantir’s argument, a unsighted devotion to pluralism and inclusivity “glosses complete nan truth that definite cultures and so subcultures . . . person produced wonders. Others person proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful.”

After Palantir posted this connected Saturday, Eliot Higgins, nan CEO of investigative website Bellingcat, dryly remarked that it was “extremely normal and good for a institution to put this successful a nationalist statement.”

Higgins besides argued that there’s much to nan station than a elemental “defence of nan West” — successful his view, it’s besides an onslaught connected what he said are cardinal pillars of populist that request rebuilding: verification, deliberation, and accountability.

“It’s besides worthy being clear astir who’s doing nan arguing,” Higgins wrote. “Palantir sells operational package to defence, intelligence, migration & constabulary agencies. These 22 points aren’t accuracy floating successful space, they’re nan nationalist ideology of a institution whose gross depends connected nan authorities it’s advocating.”