The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State

This scattershot business history from journalist Steinberger (The Wine Savant) profiles Palantir Technologies, a software company specializing in data analytics. Steinberger describes Palantir’s successes, which include software that tracked the spread of Covid-19 and a military intelligence platform that helped the Ukrainian army identify and target Russian troops, and probes claims that the company is a pillar of the surveillance state whose software is used by police departments to identify likely criminals and crime hotspots, raising issues of racial profiling. As Steinberger notes, opponents of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown also criticize Palantir’s contracts with ICE. CEO Alex Karp, a half-Black, half-Jewish billionaire with a law degree and a doctorate in social theory, emerges in this account as a knot of ideological contradictions. An avowed progressive who insists on high standards of ethics and data privacy, Karp is also a staunch supporter of Israel, Western civilization, and U.S. national-security priorities (he won’t do business with Russia or China) who has moved to the right, voicing opposition to open borders and DEI programs. Though Steinberger paints Karp as a colorful, eccentric figure, his discussion of Palantir’s technology is vague, and his claim that “Palantir was arguably the most interesting company in the world—and possibly also one of the most dangerous” feels overhyped and ill-supported. Readers will be left wanting. (Nov.)