Today, two main forces determine American politics. One of these is the MAGA movement, a movement of white conservatives that emerged in the 1980s as a reaction against social rights and feminism. The other is Silicon Valley engineers, who are the center of the innovation wave that started with Apple’s personal computer, continued with the internet and social networks, and today turned into the artificial intelligence race.
These tech elites are seen as the heirs of the railroad, oil, steel and automotive giants in the history of American capitalism.
Executives of companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI or Meta are different from the traditional global elite. They don’t feel constrained by shareholders or governments. One reason for this is that they have acquired huge fortunes in a short time. For this reason, they exhibit a distant approach to the rules and an uncomfortable approach to political institutions.
Today, these tech elites are beginning to see themselves as legitimate in ruling society.
Peter Thiel and his “criticism of democracy”
One of the most extreme examples of this approach is investor Peter Thiel. Thiel clearly states that freedom (his freedom) is incompatible with democracy. Thiel, who played a leading role in Silicon Valley’s shift from Democrats to Donald Trump’s line, supports controversial figures such as Curtis Yarvin and made financial contributions to the political career of US Vice President JD Vance.
Thiel criticizes technology regulations so harshly that he compares them to the concept of “Antichrist”.
Palantir’s “technological republic” vision
Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, systematized these ideas in his book “Technological Republic” published in 2025. The company’s manifesto, which has been on the agenda recently, is seen as the expression of these ideas at the corporate level.
According to the manifesto, Palantir wants to take on the role of essential digital infrastructure for a society that needs to rearm. The company argues that artificial intelligence will be a deterrence tool that will replace nuclear weapons in the future.
Palantir also calls on the West to abandon “empty and superficial pluralism,” abandon the ideal of inclusivity, reject the secular worldview of liberal elites, and that not all cultures are equal.
The manifesto calls on politicians to “take action instead of thinking more” and calls for World War II. He argues that the “neutralization” of the defeated powers (Germany and Japan) after World War II was a historical mistake.
Security, data and war technology
The emergence of Palantir in 2003 created a serious break in Silicon Valley culture. In an ecosystem focused on consumer products, Palantir became one of the first major technology companies to work on security and surveillance.
One of the company’s initial sources of funding was a CIA-affiliated venture capital fund.
Today, Palantir develops data analysis programs for the US Immigration Service (ICE) and supports the Israeli army in target detection in Gaza. It provided technologies that accelerated target identification and attack processes in the Iran war. These activities have been criticized by human rights organizations for both their methods and errors.
Silicon Valley is returning to the military arena again
Today, Palantir is calling on tech elites to become more involved in national defense. It seems that this call was answered.
As of 2025, even companies such as Meta and Google, which had previously stayed away from military projects, began to cooperate with the Pentagon.
In fact, this means Silicon Valley is returning to its roots. Because the financing and demand of the military industry were decisive in the development of the region in the 1960s. Today, the Pentagon shows the same interest in software, artificial intelligence and drone technologies.
What does the name “Palantir” represent?
The company’s name comes from the “palantírs” in The Lord of the Rings. These were magic stones that allowed seeing far away and accessing information.
The name is a metaphor for Palantir’s strategy. Making hidden patterns visible in big data.
One of the company’s most well-known software is called “Gotham”. These systems are defined as tools powerful enough to replace public officials with software.
The final result of this approach is the following claim: The state can be replaced by software.
A dangerous balance of power?
Big companies have always tried to influence governments. But companies like Palantir express this impact in a much more open and radical way.
This approach indicates that the delicate balance between political and economic power may change. Moreover, the language used carries a tone reminiscent of authoritarian periods, according to some commentators.
At the end of the text, the following warning is made: Producing electric cars or sending rockets into space does not mean knowing how to govern the world.
But here’s what’s really worrying. A company built on security and surveillance envisions a system in the future where states will turn into empty shells and an uncontrolled technology elite will rule behind the scenes.
