‘Technofascism’: Critics accuse Palantir of pushing AI war doctrine

Palantir CEO Alexander Karp’s book The Technological Republic advocates for Western ‘hard power … built on software’.A book coauthored by a cofounder of Palantir, a leading defence and intelligence software firm in the United States, has prompted outcry from detractors who say it lays out a “manifesto” for the weaponisation of artificial intelligence by the US and its allies.Palantir, which has multibillion-dollar contracts with multiple US government agencies, including the US Army, and partnerships with the Israeli military, recently summarised the key arguments of The Technological Republic – written by the company’s chief executive, Alexander Karp, and Nicholas W Zamiska, the head of its corporate affairs – in a post on X.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump administration unveils wide ranging AI action planlist 2 of 3Trump administration considers stake in defence firms like Lockheed Martinlist 3 of 3Nvidia will build AI supercomputers for US Department of Energyend of listThe book argues that leading US tech firms have a “moral debt” to the United States, which needs “hard power” fuelled by cutting-edge software to maintain global dominance.“If a US Marine asks for a better rifle, we should build it; and the same goes for software,” Palantir wrote in the summary of the book.It also contends that future deterrence will be based on AI, not nuclear power, and that US adversaries will not hesitate to build AI weapons. “The question is not whether AI weapons will be built; it is who will build them and for what purpose,” the company said in its summary.The framing drew sharp criticism from academics and commentators.Mark Coeckelbergh, a Belgian philosopher of technology who teaches at the University of Vienna, described the message as an “example of technofascism”.Greek economist and former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Palantir had effectively signalled a willingness “to add to nuclear Armageddon the AI-driven threat to humanity’s existence”.