What is Palantir’s Alex Karp Thinking? - The Story
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Welcome to Tech Stuff. I'm Oz Voloshin. Today we're asking the question, what is going on with Palantir, one of America's most notorious and also profitable tech companies? Since the beginning of the Trump administration, Palantir has taken center stage more and more. From their polarizing partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to advocating for nationwide military service, to their CEO stating that artificial intelligence will disrupt democracy as we know it. Joining us today to unpack the story is journalist and author Michael Steinberger, who has written a biography of Palantir's polarizing CEO, Alex Karp. It's called The Philosopher in the Valley, Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State.
Michael, welcome. It's a pleasure to be with you. Great to have you. I believe you first wrote about Palantir in 2020 for the New York Times Magazine. Is that right? That is correct. What was it six years ago that sparked your interest and why did it deepen over time?
Well, what got my interest was two things. One, Palantir was already then making a lot of news. It was involved to a certain degree with the first immigration crackdown during Trump's first presidency. But there was also a personal reason that Palantir was on my radar. It's because Alex Karp, its CEO, and I had gone to college together. We both attended this small college outside of Philadelphia called Haverford College. We were in the same graduating class. It's a quite small school, fewer than 1,500 students, yet amazingly, in those four years on that tiny campus, we never once exchanged a word. So there was no conflict of interest. So they gave me the green light to do this story. And so for those two reasons, because Palantir seemed even then to be such an interesting and powerful company.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–11:13
2
What is Palantir and why is it in the spotlight?
11:13–15:44
3
Why did Michael Steinberger spend six years reporting on Alex Karp?
15:44–31:10
4
How does Palantir’s software actually work and who uses its data tools?
31:10–44:10
5
Could widely available AI tools threaten Palantir’s business moat?
44:10–46:35
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from TechStuff
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