Palantir, the US spy technology firm, has provoked outrage after publishing a manifesto that champions American military dominance and suggests some cultures are inferior. The 22-point post on X, described by MPs as “the ramblings of a supervillain”, called for the reinstatement of a military draft in the US and predicted a future dominated by autonomous weapons.
The manifesto, which echoes CEO Alex Karp’s book The Technological Republic, argues that “free and democratic societies” need “hard power” to prevail. It also states: “Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive.” The post has intensified scrutiny of Palantir’s UK contracts, which total over £500m, including a £330m deal with the NHS.
Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley, a member of the Commons science and technology select committee, said the manifesto was “either a parody of a RoboCop film, or a disturbing narcissistic rant”. He added: “Either way it shows that the company’s ethos is entirely unsuited to working on UK government projects involving citizens’ most sensitive private data.”
Labour MP Rachael Maskell, a former NHS worker, called the post “disturbing” and urged the government to “understand the culture and ideology of Palantir, and how it will exit from its contracts at the earliest opportunity”. Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority awarded Palantir a contract to investigate its internal intelligence data, prompting MPs to urge the government to halt the deal.
Campaign group Foxglove’s head of strategy, Tim Squirrell, said: “This latest round of incoherent, comic-book villain worthy statements from Alex Karp demonstrates just how deeply embedded Palantir is in the Trump-Big Tech axis, fixated on US dominance and utterly unsuited to being anywhere near our public services.”
