- … the road ahead necessitates a reconciliation of our dedication to free-market principles, which often leads to the fragmentation and isolation of individual desires, with the unquenchable human urge for collective experience and collaboration. The disintegration of everyday life in America—and the broader Western world—has inadvertently created an opening for tech companies, including ours, to attract and maintain a generation of talent eager to pursue endeavors beyond mere financial manipulation or consulting gigs.
- —Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska, The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West, p. 217
Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska, the CEO and head of corporate affairs at Palantir Technologies, respectively, present a fascinating narrative in their book, The Technological Republic. Palantir, a Silicon Valley powerhouse, specializes in providing software solutions to both businesses and governmental entities, leveraging machine intelligence to tackle a variety of challenges, particularly in the realm of security.
Notably, the authors recount how in 2012, the U.S. military employed Palantir’s software in Afghanistan to enhance its ability to predict the locations of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
- In Afghanistan, Palantir’s software garnered a dedicated following, especially among U.S. Special Forces, where the ability to swiftly navigate databases and synthesize context prior to missions was crucial. p. 152
The book also reflects on the culture of start-ups, yet much of it echoes the lamentations of a Classics professor from the 1980s, bemoaning the rampant materialism of students and their disinterest in the noble pursuits of Western civilization.
In terms of its writing style, The Technological Republic pays homage to the dense prose of 20th-century academic literature. In a single six-page segment, the authors manage to reference or quote Thomas Hart Benton, Jackson Pollock, Jack Kerouac, Rene Girard, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Isaiah Berlin, Herbert Hoover, and John Dewey. Talk about a literary buffet!
The authors outline their vision of start-up culture as one characterized by minimal hierarchy. I have previously noted, “The more titles an organization has, the more it attracts individuals preoccupied with those titles.” Karp and Zamiska assert:
- … at Palantir, we strive to cultivate a culture where status is regarded as a tool rather than an inherent value. Every organization, including Silicon Valley’s tech giants, must implement some form of personnel hierarchy, inevitably leading to the elevation of certain individuals. The key difference lies in the rigidity of these structures, the speed with which they can be restructured, and the proportion of creative energy expended on maintaining these hierarchies versus genuine innovation. p. 125
The authors emphasize that an engineering mindset is fundamentally pragmatic; the software must function effectively. Employees are held accountable, and instead of engaging in blame-shifting, poor outcomes are analyzed through the lens of systemic issues and potential remedies.
Higher Motives
“The authors complain that too many Silicon Valley companies are looking to make big profits from solving little problems.”
Interestingly, Karp and Zamiska criticize many Silicon Valley enterprises for prioritizing substantial profits from trivial problems. They advocate for a more significant focus on pressing issues, such as national security and public health.
While the authors frequently express disdain for the finance sector, consulting, and particularly the development of consumer applications centered on shopping and entertainment, they do not position themselves as social justice warriors. In fact, they take pride in the use of Palantir software to assist law enforcement agencies.
- The belief that advanced technology and software should not be integrated into local law enforcement is a classic example of what Rob Henderson terms a “luxury belief.” The danger lies in forsaking a moral or ethical framework centered on tangible results—outcomes that genuinely impact people’s lives (think reduced hunger, crime, and disease)—in favor of a far more performative rhetoric. p. 177-178
While I gleaned valuable insights from The Technological Republic, I was also left pondering several critical questions that the authors could have addressed more thoroughly.
One pressing inquiry is how Palantir has successfully navigated the complex sales processes involving governments and large corporations. These organizations often subject potential vendors to exhaustive evaluations, leading to lengthy and frustrating negotiations. I would have appreciated concrete examples showcasing how Palantir managed to overcome these hurdles.
Another point of curiosity concerns the culture within governmental institutions. How concerned are the authors that these entities might struggle to keep pace with the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence? What recommendations might they offer to public officials navigating this evolving landscape?
Lastly, I find myself questioning the nature of the “republic” envisioned by the authors. Is a collaboration between engineering elites and political leaders truly the panacea? What implications would this partnership hold for the broader populace?
*Arnold Kling holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of several notable works, including Crisis of Abundance: Rethinking How We Pay for Health Care; Invisible Wealth: The Hidden Story of How Markets Work; Unchecked and Unbalanced: How the Discrepancy Between Knowledge and Power Caused the Financial Crisis and Threatens Democracy; and Specialization and Trade: A Re-introduction to Economics. He contributed to EconLog from January 2003 through August 2012.
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