Alex Karp Wants Silicon Valley to Fight for America(wsj.com)
wsj.com
Alex Karp Wants Silicon Valley to Fight for America
https://www.wsj.com/tech/who-is-alex-karp-palantir-ceo-dcd66e21
54 comments
He should ensure that we have an America worth fighting for, first.
There are at least 2 ways to solve this problem of subjectivity. The process is sometimes called "politics".
Americans are appropriately disenfranchised with Silicon Valley thanks to efforts like Karp's.
For others wondering who the hell Karp is, he's CEO and a co-founder of Palantir, Thiel's notorious big data/AI company for military and spooks. "Fighting for America" thus means joining outfits like his.
They became "AI" after the hype, before they were just another data company - both during covid and now, they capitalize on retail investor euphoria.
austinwade(1)
Tech is rapidly polarizing, following the American public. There is very little middle ground anymore for Americans, and it seems our tech companies are doomed to follow that trend. There will be nationalist companies, and those that think nationalism is a dirty word, which is which will shift with administrations.
This feels dangerous, as our largest geopolitical adversary, China, outright owns its companies. They have no choice but to be nationalistic. It's one of America's great contradictions that one of our greatest strengths, our right to believe as we wish and act accordingly, leaves us significantly weakened as our population becomes less and less aligned.
It would be a massive failure to try to force Americans to go against their own conscience. So we're left forced to ask ourselves why so many Americans think fighting for their country is a bad thing, and what we can do about that.
This feels dangerous, as our largest geopolitical adversary, China, outright owns its companies. They have no choice but to be nationalistic. It's one of America's great contradictions that one of our greatest strengths, our right to believe as we wish and act accordingly, leaves us significantly weakened as our population becomes less and less aligned.
It would be a massive failure to try to force Americans to go against their own conscience. So we're left forced to ask ourselves why so many Americans think fighting for their country is a bad thing, and what we can do about that.
I think that having the richest guy in the world throw up 3 nazi salutes at the inauguration and basically be the puppet master of the new administration certainly isn’t helping Americans want to sign up to help the military industrial complex.
I served in the military two decades ago, and I was proud to do so. I had mixed feelings on the GWOT, even though I was a conservative then. But the country’s political leadership felt at least somewhat stable, competent, and loyal to America.
Things look different twenty years later. I wouldn’t be eager to fight for America now because it feels like I’d be fighting for Trump’s ego more than anything else.
Things look different twenty years later. I wouldn’t be eager to fight for America now because it feels like I’d be fighting for Trump’s ego more than anything else.
It'll feel a lot more worthwhile when so many of its citizens don't feel like America is fighting them.
Karp’s new book “The Technological Republic” https://www.amazon.com/Technological-Republic-Power-Belief-F...
[deleted]
In Tolkien's Silmarillion, the creator of the palantiri had a great foe, Morgoth. Join the resistance side of the Lord of the Rigs meme war at http://silmarils.tech
It seems like people like Alex Karp and Thiel want to make Snow Crash a reality and chop America into corporate city states run by tech billionaires is more like it.
Karp is exactly correct. America has ideals and values that are worth fighting for, such as free speech, civil rights, (mostly) free markets, and so on. We are seeing a revival of more substantial companies that can help uphold those values, after wasting two decades on social media or whatever.
The comments here on HN are disappointingly shallow and suggest people aren’t reading the article or are taking the most uncharitable interpretations to support an attack on Karp or what he’s saying.
The comments here on HN are disappointingly shallow and suggest people aren’t reading the article or are taking the most uncharitable interpretations to support an attack on Karp or what he’s saying.
> America has ideals and values that are worth fighting for, such as free speech, civil rights, (mostly) free markets, and so on.
"I say the whole world must learn of our peaceful ways... by force!"
"I say the whole world must learn of our peaceful ways... by force!"
Always fascinating that the people with anti-police politics never go into policing (even in areas that strongly share their political leanings) but expect different outcomes magically
magically = "group action driven by a shared understanding of the common good. Buttressed by clear through-line that connects what each individual has to give up in terms of time/freedom/autonomy to the benefit of themselves and their community."
It's always fascinating when folks see the stick as the only vehicle for change. But hey, there is a weird honesty to it. The only way we can keep people 'in line' when their lot in life is all lemons ...is naked force.
It's always fascinating when folks see the stick as the only vehicle for change. But hey, there is a weird honesty to it. The only way we can keep people 'in line' when their lot in life is all lemons ...is naked force.
Mao: Power and the Gun.
Misquoting (in translation) the sophomoric military machinations of a person who never served but who's polices managed to kill millions isn't going to curry favor here.
Group action with clear purpose is compatible with capital. In fact, we have a plurality of names for it; businesses, clubs, linux kernel development...
Group action with clear purpose is compatible with capital. In fact, we have a plurality of names for it; businesses, clubs, linux kernel development...
Misquoting my arse. Mao didn't need to hold a gun if he could control those with it. The currently crumbling pax Americana wasn't held by just capital and group action. You think Xi would be fine if the people in his country controlling the guns decided they want someone else?
I didn't just talk about the stick though. When you promote the idea that all cops are bastards, and make sure people who will police the way you want don't go into policing, you'll get bastards. Doesn't matter if your community votes DSA, Green or Communist.
If you don't have people that align with your ideology in areas that matter or aren't incentivised to you won't get the changes you desire.
How will you get change when the people who want the changes refuse to work or have their people in the organizations that they want change? And even disincentivize it.
Barring the use of force it's the functional elites, not the hoi polloi (that manage to have time for protests and such) that drive change.
You can tell from the biography of pretty much every activist or philosopher you know.
As for Linux, it takes people; individuals on the inside to drive change too. As anyone who follows development there will know. If the people that matter don't write or don't accept the code you desire, it's never going to be in-tree.
I didn't just talk about the stick though. When you promote the idea that all cops are bastards, and make sure people who will police the way you want don't go into policing, you'll get bastards. Doesn't matter if your community votes DSA, Green or Communist.
If you don't have people that align with your ideology in areas that matter or aren't incentivised to you won't get the changes you desire.
How will you get change when the people who want the changes refuse to work or have their people in the organizations that they want change? And even disincentivize it.
Barring the use of force it's the functional elites, not the hoi polloi (that manage to have time for protests and such) that drive change.
You can tell from the biography of pretty much every activist or philosopher you know.
As for Linux, it takes people; individuals on the inside to drive change too. As anyone who follows development there will know. If the people that matter don't write or don't accept the code you desire, it's never going to be in-tree.
I am a little confused about what is happening now. What Mao did was wrong. Holding the gun or being in charge of those who do is a distinction without a difference. Law by violence is wrong. Whether it is Xi, Mao, or the mob, it's wrong. The same holds true for America's rise to power. My argument is normative; it is not a historical narrative.
Just because he did it "effectively" (by a measure of effectiveness I would take issue with) doesn't make it less wrong. If you want to stop the lion's share of crime, just imprison every young person aged 16–26 and release them on their 27th birthday. Effective beyond belief, crime will decrease in a way never before seen. It is still really wrong. Effectiveness is not a substitute for morality.
Asking people to join the police, as it is currently constituted, is asking people to go against their morality. It is that simple. It doesn't matter if you believe a police system can exist in its current form "done right", or if you think it needs restructuring, or if you think it doesn't need to exist. Right now it sucks, and a 10% increase in cops with some subtlety in their actions isn't fixing it.
People are in a big dialogue right now about how using social media is ruining people... what do you think going against your basic moral precepts will do to someone? You are not providing a clear avenue for change but still asking for a lot out of folks and wondering why they won't take part.
Regarding Linux development, having some hierarchy is not a negation of group action. Furthermore, analogizing a maintainer being pissy about a Rust PR and the police force killing people might as well be the platonic ideal of a false equivalence.
(The canonical and contemporaneous translation is (I _think_ from Edgar Snow): "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.")
Just because he did it "effectively" (by a measure of effectiveness I would take issue with) doesn't make it less wrong. If you want to stop the lion's share of crime, just imprison every young person aged 16–26 and release them on their 27th birthday. Effective beyond belief, crime will decrease in a way never before seen. It is still really wrong. Effectiveness is not a substitute for morality.
Asking people to join the police, as it is currently constituted, is asking people to go against their morality. It is that simple. It doesn't matter if you believe a police system can exist in its current form "done right", or if you think it needs restructuring, or if you think it doesn't need to exist. Right now it sucks, and a 10% increase in cops with some subtlety in their actions isn't fixing it.
People are in a big dialogue right now about how using social media is ruining people... what do you think going against your basic moral precepts will do to someone? You are not providing a clear avenue for change but still asking for a lot out of folks and wondering why they won't take part.
Regarding Linux development, having some hierarchy is not a negation of group action. Furthermore, analogizing a maintainer being pissy about a Rust PR and the police force killing people might as well be the platonic ideal of a false equivalence.
(The canonical and contemporaneous translation is (I _think_ from Edgar Snow): "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.")
wrt to the Police matter.
To change things you have to hold power, analyzing and critiquing make no change while the internal culture and incentives don't change.
There's no false equivalence. The sort of change you want almost always requires a change of control. i.e people inside .
If you think you're above being inside, it's not any morality nonsense. It's a lack of desire to effect change. Like in Ukraine, the guns won't shoot themselves.
To change things you have to hold power, analyzing and critiquing make no change while the internal culture and incentives don't change.
There's no false equivalence. The sort of change you want almost always requires a change of control. i.e people inside .
If you think you're above being inside, it's not any morality nonsense. It's a lack of desire to effect change. Like in Ukraine, the guns won't shoot themselves.
You either change the world, or the world changes you. Those ideals didn't emerge out of nowhere with no rivals either, whether it was Conservatism, Communism or Fascism, Liberals very much did play dirty to win in the end.
Perhaps you might call them hypocrites as such, and they might agree with you on that, but the outcomes are different. Freedom entails Responsibility, so don't get too childish in taking the rights you enjoy today for granted.
Perhaps you might call them hypocrites as such, and they might agree with you on that, but the outcomes are different. Freedom entails Responsibility, so don't get too childish in taking the rights you enjoy today for granted.
> help uphold those values
sorry, but the way to uphold those values is by 1) setting an example of a prosperous nation that is a good example of those values (something we're failing at miserably right now, unfortunately), and 2) creating incentives and motivating other countries to adopt those same values
the absolutely worst way to uphold those values is through military force, which is what Palantir is all about. So I quite strongly disagree with Karp.
(That being said, I do agree with the point that much talent and money is wasted on frivolous social entertainment instead of things that could truly benefit humanity.)
sorry, but the way to uphold those values is by 1) setting an example of a prosperous nation that is a good example of those values (something we're failing at miserably right now, unfortunately), and 2) creating incentives and motivating other countries to adopt those same values
the absolutely worst way to uphold those values is through military force, which is what Palantir is all about. So I quite strongly disagree with Karp.
(That being said, I do agree with the point that much talent and money is wasted on frivolous social entertainment instead of things that could truly benefit humanity.)
>sorry, but the way to uphold those values is by 1) setting an example of a prosperous nation that is a good example of those values (something we're failing at miserably right now, unfortunately), and 2) creating incentives and motivating other countries to adopt those same values
How do you know this? America is far more despondent today than during the Cold War where they were willing to play those dirty tricks in force and propaganda to win, and they did. Current America's predicaments are precisely tracked down to their risk aversion to force that Russia, China and Iran are quite apt to capitalize on. The dove policy is arguably an even greater failure than the neocons.
Even domestically, foreigners aren't laughing at Texas or the Deep South, they're laughing at progressive cities like San Francisco or Portland or LA that are the bastions of this no-force mentality you are speaking about.
How do you know this? America is far more despondent today than during the Cold War where they were willing to play those dirty tricks in force and propaganda to win, and they did. Current America's predicaments are precisely tracked down to their risk aversion to force that Russia, China and Iran are quite apt to capitalize on. The dove policy is arguably an even greater failure than the neocons.
Even domestically, foreigners aren't laughing at Texas or the Deep South, they're laughing at progressive cities like San Francisco or Portland or LA that are the bastions of this no-force mentality you are speaking about.
"Palantir CEO Alex Karp Jokes About Drone-Striking Rivals, Suggests Sending Protesters To North Korea At Capitol Hill Forum" (https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/05/38571263/palantir-ceo-al...)
"Palantir CEO signs off year with nod to West's 'organised violence'" (https://www.thestack.technology/palantir-ceo-signs-off-year-...)
Karp cares fuck all about the things that make America actually great. I do not consent to living in his AI-surveilled, Slaughterbot-policed[1] hellscape version of America.
[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/singularity/comments/1hexvat/slaugh...
"Palantir CEO signs off year with nod to West's 'organised violence'" (https://www.thestack.technology/palantir-ceo-signs-off-year-...)
Karp cares fuck all about the things that make America actually great. I do not consent to living in his AI-surveilled, Slaughterbot-policed[1] hellscape version of America.
[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/singularity/comments/1hexvat/slaugh...
I'd be happy if the rest of America fought for America.
>"Alex Karp Wants Silicon Valley to Fight for America"
Translation: helping government and big businesses to turn people into cattle.
Translation: helping government and big businesses to turn people into cattle.
I think it's more that Alex Karp wants Silicon Valley to fight for control of America [0].
I realize I'm either on the edge or crossing the guidelines of HN but considering how SV, YC, A16Z and others are intertwined with the Trump administration, I don't know how these types of discussions can be avoided.
[0] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/palantir-alex-k...
I realize I'm either on the edge or crossing the guidelines of HN but considering how SV, YC, A16Z and others are intertwined with the Trump administration, I don't know how these types of discussions can be avoided.
[0] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/palantir-alex-k...
These discussions cannot be avoided because America is not intended to be an autocracy, yet the neofascists keep on shrouding themselves in the flag. At this point the only sensible reading of "fight for America" means working to separate the current administration from the levers of power before they finish breaking down and selling off our entire country (ultimately to China).
Thanks; that's an alarming article.
Remember when the most obviously questionable company to which new college grads flocked was Facebook?
This one is giving off much more obviously bad vibes.
Remember when the most obviously questionable company to which new college grads flocked was Facebook?
This one is giving off much more obviously bad vibes.
Is it fair to lump YC in there as well? It might be, genuinely not sure.
Though no longer affiliated with YC, Sam Altman is stumping for Trump [0] [1].
Andreessen is also no longer affiliated with YC but has been a very vocal advocate for Trump lately [2] [3] [4].
I don't follow YC's current administration or board very closely but I would be surprised if the current lineup weren't in lock step with Altman, Andreessen, Thiel, Musk and others. Please let me know if I'm jumping to conclusions incorrectly.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_LLC
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaZrLDMA56E
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHWnPOKh_S0
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8MOfxD5nU
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgTeZXw-ytQ
Andreessen is also no longer affiliated with YC but has been a very vocal advocate for Trump lately [2] [3] [4].
I don't follow YC's current administration or board very closely but I would be surprised if the current lineup weren't in lock step with Altman, Andreessen, Thiel, Musk and others. Please let me know if I'm jumping to conclusions incorrectly.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_LLC
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaZrLDMA56E
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHWnPOKh_S0
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8MOfxD5nU
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgTeZXw-ytQ
So the answer is no, it’s not fair to lump YC in there. You don’t have any evidence or knowledge at all, you’re just jumping to conclusions.
"Garry Tan is hopeful about Trump" [0].
Donor lookup for Gustaf Alstromer [1].
Paul Buchheit "So good!" (video of RJK Jr. talk), reposting a tweet with the caption "they could have done it any time. They chose not too. Thats why ppl voted against them" on another tweet about illegal border crossings [3].
Jared Friedman "The young engineers going to DOGE remind me of the early days of the US Digital Service, when a bunch of SV engineers moved to DC to fix http://healthcare.gov. It's the same energy, but now the mandate isn't to fix the government's tech, it's to fix the government." [4]
Michael Seibel "Had an amazing talk about the US economy tonight. All kinds of feelings. Opportunities/ challenges abound. I choose to be optimistic." [5]
It looks like there are a few board members that are either keeping silent about politics or are more vocally against Trump and some of his policies, but a large portion or the majority are actively supporting Trump.
Considering the motivation of YC, the sentiment of many of the prominent figures and the brief amount of Googling, I would say that YC is much more in lock step than not. So it looks like, for the most part, I did jump to conclusions correctly.
[0] https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/garry-tan-trump-ai-crypt...
[1] https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?cand=tech+f...
[2] https://x.com/paultoo/status/1890191142689632593
[3] https://x.com/razibkhan/status/1890167090692387028
[4] https://x.com/snowmaker/status/1886672263216504853
[5] https://x.com/mwseibel/status/1888457501806653835
Donor lookup for Gustaf Alstromer [1].
Paul Buchheit "So good!" (video of RJK Jr. talk), reposting a tweet with the caption "they could have done it any time. They chose not too. Thats why ppl voted against them" on another tweet about illegal border crossings [3].
Jared Friedman "The young engineers going to DOGE remind me of the early days of the US Digital Service, when a bunch of SV engineers moved to DC to fix http://healthcare.gov. It's the same energy, but now the mandate isn't to fix the government's tech, it's to fix the government." [4]
Michael Seibel "Had an amazing talk about the US economy tonight. All kinds of feelings. Opportunities/ challenges abound. I choose to be optimistic." [5]
It looks like there are a few board members that are either keeping silent about politics or are more vocally against Trump and some of his policies, but a large portion or the majority are actively supporting Trump.
Considering the motivation of YC, the sentiment of many of the prominent figures and the brief amount of Googling, I would say that YC is much more in lock step than not. So it looks like, for the most part, I did jump to conclusions correctly.
[0] https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/garry-tan-trump-ai-crypt...
[1] https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?cand=tech+f...
[2] https://x.com/paultoo/status/1890191142689632593
[3] https://x.com/razibkhan/status/1890167090692387028
[4] https://x.com/snowmaker/status/1886672263216504853
[5] https://x.com/mwseibel/status/1888457501806653835
I definately have never donated to Donald Trump and would never. It would have been easy to google tech for campaigns https://www.techforcampaigns.org/.
My apologies on this.
This seems like very thin evidence to support your claim.
But even if true, jumping to conclusions and maligning people and organizations without even doing a cursory amount of research is pretty shitty.
But even if true, jumping to conclusions and maligning people and organizations without even doing a cursory amount of research is pretty shitty.