Palantir's Manifesto with June and Caleb from KTC

Hosts Zitra, Juniper, and Caleb from Kill the Computer dissect Palantir CEO Alex Karp's 22-point manifesto, posted on the company's site. They mock its unedited, manifesto-like style while analyzing its calls for Silicon Valley's involvement in national defense, critiques of apps and culture, and push for hard power through software like Palantir's. Drawing on Karp's background—a philosophy PhD influenced by Habermas, early anti-Trump stance shifted post-October 7—they debate his sincerity amid Palantir's government contracts and losses.

Palantir's Business and Karp's Worldview

Palantir builds software layered on databases for data analysis, serving clients like the CIA (its first), Israel since 2014, and ICE for deportations via facial recognition. Hosts compare it to "evil Oracle" or "evil Salesforce," with forward-deployed engineers charging high fees. Karp, a self-described progressive Democrat economically but now hardline Zionist, wrote a dissertation on aggression as societal glue. Guests note his rejection by mentor Habermas, who faxed a takedown calling his work unoriginal, pushing him from academia to business. They see the manifesto—co-written with lawyer Nicholas Zamiska, excerpted from Karp's book—as sincere but frantic, possibly a midlife crisis fueled by espresso and isolation among tech peers.