A 22-point manifesto posted on X by Palantir co-founder Alex Karp has gone viral, amassing over 30 million views. In the post, Karp criticizes the belief that all cultures are equal, calls for universal national service, and defends AI weapons. He also labels the post-war disarmament of Germany and Japan as an "overcorrection" and condemns the "ruthless exposure" of private lives.
Karp's views carry weight as his company holds lucrative contracts with the UK government, including the NHS, Ministry of Defence, and 11 police forces. The firm's growing influence has sparked alarm among critics who question its leadership's ideology.
"Every alarm bell for democracy must ring," said Professor Shannon Vallor, chair of ethics of data and AI at the University of Edinburgh.
Palantir describes its work as data "plumbing," linking scattered information for analysis. The company won a £300m contract to create an NHS data platform, a decision opposed by the British Medical Association (BMA). Palantir UK boss Louis Mosley recently attacked a critical BMA article on X, escalating tensions.
However, former NHS data platform lead Tom Bartlett defended Palantir, calling it "uniquely suited to the messy NHS data problems."
The $400bn firm also supplies AI-enabled military tech to Nato, Ukraine, and the US, and has a £240m contract with the UK MoD to support its "kill-chain" capabilities.
Critics argue that Palantir's work with US immigration enforcement and Israel's military, as well as the political leanings of Karp and co-founder Peter Thiel, should disqualify it from public contracts.
In his X post, Karp wrote that some cultures produce "wonders" while others are "regressive," and criticized the West for avoiding cultural criticism. He argued that protecting democracies requires "hard power" and that nuclear deterrence is giving way to AI-based deterrence. He also called for universal national service, a point that has drawn backlash in the US.
Karp joins a list of tech billionaires, including Elon Musk, who promote ideological theories. He defended Musk's grand narratives, saying critics want billionaires to "stay in their lane."
But Dr. Rhiannon Mihranian Osborne of Medact, which runs the No Palantir in the NHS campaign, said the contract makes the health system complicit in "violent operations" and "deeply alarming ideology."
In response, Palantir stated it is proud to help the UK government deliver more NHS operations, speed up cancer diagnosis, and tackle domestic violence. The Department of Health referred to previous remarks by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who defended the technology but said he was "not a fan" of Palantir's leadership.