Overall Thoughts & Summary

I have huge admiration for the work Palantir does and a ton of respect for Alex Karp, but I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

This is the sort of book you’re likely to pick up only if you already align with the author’s views and the company’s culture. I got about a quarter of the way through and would have much rather read a Blinkist-style summary and listened to a podcast with Alex Karp instead.

When I read books, I want to learn something new, be inspired by a biography, be challenged by a different perspective, or be drawn into a new world. This simply felt like an echo chamber that reinforced my existing views.

I interviewed at Palantir in 2014 and would have accepted the offer if I had gotten one. I spoke with their CTO at the time and thought the conversation went well, though I didn’t vibe with the hiring manager as much. They reached back out to me in 2016, but by then I was on a different journey.

All this is to say: I’ve been excited about and aligned with the company’s vision and direction from the start.

Karp discusses the importance of innovation in hard tech—defense, military, science, etc. He pushes back on the “woke culture” that took over Silicon Valley in the 2010s, when many brilliant minds focused on ads, took mental health days every other week, complained about their company’s lack of political involvement, and still felt entitled to premium compensation packages even while claiming money didn’t matter.

Fortunately, there’s been a huge mindset shift in the past few years—and Palantir has been pushing for it for over a decade.

I’d love the opportunity to work with Karp’s leadership team. I’m excited to see the company continue to grow and thrive. I’m impressed by what they’ve achieved with Foundry, and inspired by their actions, vision, direction, values, and culture.

With all of that said, I didn’t like the book and wouldn’t recommend it.

Notes & Quotes

Innovation and Silicon Valley

Innovation Gap:

  • The state retreated from large-scale breakthroughs, leaving innovation to the private sector.
  • Silicon Valley focused on consumer apps over projects with security and societal value.

Silicon Valley’s Shift:

  • Narrow focus on trivial consumer tech instead of national welfare.
  • Capital and talent misdirected to ephemeral products that will fade quickly; markets don’t always deliver what’s needed.

Quote:

“The grandiose rallying cry of a generation of founders in Silicon Valley was simply to build. Few asked what needed to be built and why.”

AI and National Identity

AI Heightens Need for National Identity:

  • AI challenges humanity’s creative supremacy.
  • Forces a near-term reckoning over national identity and societal purpose.

AI’s Impact on Human Identity:

  • AI is encroaching on art, humor, and literature.
  • Raises existential questions about authenticity and what remains uniquely human.

Blake Lemoine and LaMDA:

  • Leaked transcripts showcased a strikingly intimate, fragile “voice,” widening public awareness of model capabilities.

Quote:

“What does it mean for humanity when AI becomes capable of writing a novel that becomes a bestseller, moving millions, or makes us laugh out loud?”

Belief and Leadership

Leaders’ Reluctance to Believe:

  • Leaders avoid articulating genuine values for fear of punishment in the public sphere.
  • Decision-makers often lack firm, authentic beliefs; private sector shouldn’t cede this discourse to academia.

Quote:

“Those responsible for making our most consequential decisions… are often unsure of what their own beliefs are.”

Historical Models of Science & Politics

Roosevelt’s Vision:

  • Wartime science-state collaboration should be adapted to peacetime aims like public health.

Early American Leaders:

  • Founders engaged directly with science; technical curiosity once intersected with governance.

Technical Minds in Politics:

  • Scientists/engineers have been crowded out of electoral office in the modern era.

Scientists in Politics:

  • Oppenheimer and peers placed science at the center of American life; deep trust once connected scientists and leaders.

Scientists as Celebrities:

  • Innovators like Vannevar Bush and Marie Curie were public figures; scientific achievement captivated mass audiences.

Retreat from National Projects

Engineers’ Retreat:

  • Top talent often avoids messy, vital work tied to collective welfare and defense.
  • Preference for fundraising and building the next app over national service.

Engineer Reluctance:

  • Many young engineers resist building digital weapon systems and take national safety for granted.

Culture, Security, and Action

Culture and National Security:

  • Shared cultural purpose won the last world war and will decide the next; the U.S. must align AI with national aims.

Oppenheimer’s Pragmatism:

  • Build first; debate use later—bias toward action and inquiry.

Quote:

“When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it.”

Global Defense Dynamics

Obama on Europe’s Defense Spending:

  • In 2016, Obama criticized Europe’s low defense spending and urged the UK to meet the 2% NATO threshold.

Software, Hardware, and New Entrepreneurs

Software at the Helm:

  • AI/software now leads; hardware (e.g., drones) executes AI-driven recommendations on the battlefield.

Elon Musk’s Ambition:

  • Tesla and SpaceX targeted government-sized innovation gaps; reusable rockets defied skeptics.

Quote:

Critics are “those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Decay of Belief in Institutions

Managerial Class Decay:

  • Many leaders formed no real worldview—managing for survival over substance.

Elite Culture’s Bargain:

  • Belief itself treated as dangerous; Silicon Valley’s anti-worldview posture captured by slogans like “Don’t be evil” → “Do the right thing.”

Universities and Moral Leadership

Yale’s Response to Civil Rights Demonstrations:

  • President Kingman Brewster publicly entered the moral fray in 1970, risking backlash and emerging stronger.

Quote:

“When you strike at a king, you must kill him.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson