Trump, Musk, and Karp are very explicit about the world they envision – total American (and Western) domination, powered by surveillance, warfare and big data, writes Rhiannon Mihranian Osborne. [GETTY]
WithTrump’s term beginning at the White House, people are rightly alarmed at the increasingly public role of billionaires and tech tycoons shaping American policy. WhilstMusk and his Department of Government Efficiency are catching headlines, other members of the Silicon Valley boys club are cashing in on the Trump presidency.
In their annual revenue forecast, Palantir, an AI weapons and surveillance company, announced record sales forecasts thanks to “untamed” demand for its products. In a disturbing yet revealingcall with investors, Alex Karp, Palantir CEO declared, “We’re doin’ it! And I’m sure you’re enjoying this as much as I am!”.
Palantir technology is used to support the Immigration Enforcement Agency (ICE), and their stock soared as mass deportations escalated. “There’s a revolution. Some people get their heads cut off,” Karp said. “We’re expecting to see really unexpected things, and to win.”
The escalation of Musk’s involvement in government planning represents a very public and accelerated, but definitely not new, authoritarian capitalist relationship between corporations and the state.
Far-right band of brothers
Palantir generates about two-thirds of its revenue from US government contracts, and has focussed explicitly on embedding itself within and in service of state operations. Karp declared that Musk’s government reshaping mission would be “very good” for his company.
Their work includes Pentagon-based AI drone development; border enforcement in the US and the UK; drone strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan; AI warfare technology for the Israeli genocide in Gaza; and predictive policing in the US and Palestine.
Most recently, they were handed a contract by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to handleunprecedented amounts of health data.
Trump, Musk, and Karp are very explicit about the world they envision – total American (and Western) domination, powered by surveillance, warfare and big data. In Palantir’s case, their company vision combines co-founder Peter Thiel’s far-right libertarian ideology with Karp’s dreams to “power the West to its obvious innate superiority.”
Thiel has long been a key figure in American far-right politics, famously once stating: “I no longer believe freedom and democracy are compatible”. Thiel is a financial supporter and close follower ofCurtis Yarvin, a self-proclaimed historian who believes that slavery is a natural order of society, and bemoans that we “conveniently define away all of the instances of slavery in which the relationship is functional”.
Yarvin has a simple solution to society’s problems – “How do you get a non-destructive authoritarian?”, he writes, “find the world’s best CEO, and give him undivided control over budget, policy and personnel.” It certainly seems like that’s the plan.
The new vice-president, JD Vance, frequently cites Yarvin by name in interviews and was backed and mentored by Thiel from as early as 2016. The ideology of Thiel, Yarvin, Musk, Vance, Trump and their allies combines supposed mistrust of and rebellion against the state with expansion of the most violent parts of the state – prisons, policing, warfare, borders and surveillance – under the guidance of corporations.
Karp, on the other hand, often hilariously frames himself as a ‘populist leftist’ simply defending the superiority of ‘tolerant’ Western culture. Like many billionaire tech bros, he has a cult-like following and presents himself as an odd, poorly understood but well-meaning genius. He is less vocal on domestic politics, but Karp and Thiel are united in the pursuit of Western domination.
“Palantir is here to disrupt”
Karp previously summarised his presidential policy priorities as – “if you touch an American, we will inflict pain on you for generations.” Furthermore, in his January 2025 letter to shareholders, Karpreminded them that it is necessary for the West to enforce its dominance by developing “superiority in applying organized violence”.
Palantir is not shy about being part of that organised violence. “We are dedicating the company to the service of the West and the USA”,Karp said, “Palantir is here to disrupt and make the institutions we partner with the very best in the world, and when it’s necessary to scare enemies, and on occasion kill them.”
Palantir’s collection of government contracts in everything from drone technology to healthcare is not a coincidence, but a key strategic choice for the company’s mission. They are serious about key state operations for the West and all their surveillance data, including health data, being run on their platforms.
Make no mistake: the embedding of Palantir into the NHS is part of their wider mission. Palantir lobbiedaggressively to get the contract, utilisingMI6 contacts,senior health executives, industry leaders, consulting firms and politicians to guarantee their success.
This should not come as a surprise – attacks on healthcare and the infiltration of health settings are a key pillar of fascist, racist and authoritarian politics.
In Palestine, the Israeli military, supported by Palantir AI, has devastated the entire health system in order to try and extinguish Palestinian life. In the US and the UK, health settings are becoming increasingly hostile environments for migrants, with border enforcement agencies and the police increasingly integrated into hospitals.
Critics have pointed out that one of the many dangers ofPalantir’s NHS data management system is that it could make it easier to surveil migrants.
Shared struggles, shared liberation
This might seem overwhelming, but the interconnectedness of state repression and corporate power means that wherever we are fighting it, it weakens the whole. It is through understanding the ideological, economic and logistical links between all forms of oppression that we can resist despair and organise against it. For example, the massive resistance to Palantir’s NHS contract and awareness of the danger it poses partly came as a result of Palestinian health unions calling for solidarity.
As health workers in the UK, we have the power to resist the encroachment of policing, borders, surveillance and militarisation into the health system. We have the power to be part of the global fight against state and corporate violence, one hospital at a time.
The roll out of Palantir technologies in public services relies on the compliance of workers, patients and the public, and we have the power to stop it. This is why a coalition of groups in the UK launched the#NoPalantirInTheNHS toolkit – a guide to local organising against corporate tech giants like Palantir, in healthcare.
Instead of panicking in the face of escalating state violence, corporate power and imperialism, we have to understand how our everyday lives – from our workplaces to our supermarkets – are intertwined with, and essential to this system. Only then can we dismantle it.
Dr Rhiannon Mihranian Osborne is doctor, organiser, and researcher focussed on health justice as a tool for radical systems change. Her work focuses on environmental justice, anti-colonialism, and re-imagining health systems.
Follow them on X: @rhi_mihranian
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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.
