Palantir Published a Mini Manifesto, Calls for Draft

Friday, April 24, 2026

Palantir published a mini manifesto over the weekend based on a book by its CEO that made the company's position clear on a range of topics, from reinstating the military draft to Silicon Valley's moral duty to help the U.S. defend itself.

Posted by Corky at 08:31 AM | 20 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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NEW: Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They're the Bad Guys Interviews with current and former Palantir employees, along with internal Slack messages obtained by @wired.com, suggest a workforce in turmoil. read @makenakelly.bsky.social:

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-- Leah Feiger (@leahfeiger.bsky.social) Apr 23, 2026 at 12:07 PM

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"The manifesto also argues the atomic age is ending and the next era of deterrence will be built on AI.

That makes it essential, the authors claim, that American tech companies build AI weapons and don't give in to protesters, because America's adversaries "will not pause to indulge in theatrical debates" about whether they should build advanced AI weapons.

The argument is aimed squarely at employee resistance that has troubled Palantir and others.

Google declined to renew its Project Maven AI military contract in 2018 after employee protests; Palantir took it on.

Last year, 13 former Palantir employees also wrote an open letter criticizing the company's work with the Trump administration."

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2026-04-22 08:47 PM | Reply

Video version:

www.youtube.com

#2 | Posted by Corky at 2026-04-22 09:31 PM | Reply

The real WWIII will be humans and countries vs. AI entities and corporations.

#3 | Posted by NerfHerder at 2026-04-22 09:33 PM | Reply

#3 NerfHerder says, "The real WWIII will be humans and countries vs. AI entities and corporations."

Behold the future ...

#4 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-04-22 09:39 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Given the division of the US citizens a mandatory draft wouldn't be a bad thing.

Getting people out of their bubble and actually doing some physical labor might fix the US citizen.

Anyone disagreeing is a lazy PoS.

#5 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-04-22 09:44 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

I could see that.

#6 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-04-22 09:45 PM | Reply

I like Rollerball, personally.

#7 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-04-22 11:01 PM | Reply

"Jonathan! Jonathan!"

#8 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-04-22 11:15 PM | Reply

Given the division of the US citizens a mandatory draft wouldn't be a bad thing.
Getting people out of their bubble and actually doing some physical labor might fix the US citizen.
Anyone disagreeing is a lazy PoS.

#5 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-04-22 09:44 PM | Reply | Flag:

Genius. We don't need them at all for war, and draftees kind of suck.

However, we could use them to clean up parks, do solar installs. We could call them the Climate Corp.

#9 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-04-23 08:27 AM | Reply

How long would conscription be for? If a year, then you would get about 6 months of availability for combat with the shortest training cycles. Many technical roles require a year or longer. It isn't grandpa's army anymore.

#10 | Posted by mattm at 2026-04-23 08:46 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Given the division of the US citizens a mandatory draft wouldn't be a bad thing.

#5 | Posted by oneironau

Remember the last draft? Of course you don't.

Idiot.

#11 | Posted by Zed at 2026-04-23 09:28 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Conscription is Slavery.

Hard Pass.

Why don't they "Draft" Alex Karp and Peter Thiel?

All the big War Profiteers? Force them to Clean Parks and Install Solar Panels,or God Forbid, kill and Die for Bloodsuckers and Bounders.

It's easy to say other people need to be forced into "Service".

Only the " Little People" get Conscripted.

It's a Social Class thing and Stupid.

Conscription is an Unmitigated Bad Thing.

If nobody wants To "Serve" maybe the Wars would Stop?

#12 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2026-04-23 09:54 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

"Russia is transitioning to a year-round, modernized military conscription system for 2026, targeting men aged 18"30 for one year of service. As of late 2025, the age range was expanded from 27 to 30, and electronic, 30-day expiring, summonses are used to fill quotas, often exceeding 130,000 per, or now, throughout the year."

bet they wish they were cleaning parks instead of being slaughtered in a trench by a quadrotor.

#13 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-04-23 06:05 PM | Reply

"Iran has mandatory military service for all male citizens upon reaching the age of 18. The service lasts between 18 and 24 months, with conscripts serving in the army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), or the police."

An afro-persian draftee from Hormozgan. That's up there with being a black draftee during Vietnam.

#14 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-04-23 06:10 PM | Reply

Mandatory Public Service would be a good thing for America.

The draft would not be.

All Americans should be required to do some type of 2 year public service. (With pay and benefits). This would give us all a better insight into the inner workings of our government.

It does not have to be in the military. There is plenty of work that needs to be done in America.

This manifesto is a warning.

The Singularity is Near.

Quick! Everyone look important!

#15 | Posted by donnerboy at 2026-04-24 01:50 PM | Reply | Funny: 1 | Newsworthy 2

I agree with DonnerBoy, a period of mandatory public service might be a good thing.

I'll give oneironaut a little credit for suggesting that public service (not necessarily military, although that should certainly be an option) might offer the benefit of letting people see outside their bubble. We do need a way to break down the barriers that divide us.

If we could make that happen along with the permanent expulsion of the demented criminal currently occupying the White House, we might actually make some progress.

#16 | Posted by cbob at 2026-04-24 04:45 PM | Reply

#16 A poster, who is no longer with us, once highlighted the 3 types of US sailors (serving on US Naval vessels):

When docking in a foreign land, there are 3 types of US sailors:

Sailors who won't get off the ship regardless of where it is docked (other than "home");

Sailors who do take shore leave and immediately seek experiences of home (e.g.: McDonalds); and

Sailors who do take shore leave and immediately jump into the local culture (food, people, etc.)

'Tis those in the 3rd category who became the well-rounded citizens of the world!

#17 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-04-24 05:23 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

"Mandatory public service" is a hell of a whitewashing of slavery.

#18 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-04-25 10:59 AM | Reply

"Mandatory public service" is a hell of a whitewashing of slavery.
#18 | Posted by sitzkrieg

Slavery is private service.
Ask one of Epstein's girls for details.

#19 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-04-25 11:02 AM | Reply

If nobody wants To "Serve" maybe the Wars would Stop?
POSTED BY EFFETEPOSER

"Suppose they declared a war and nobody came?"

Then the attacking army wins by default.

And even if you join voluntarily you are bound by contract to obey all lawful orders.

Soldiers are bound to follow orders regardless of the popularity of a war, making any total refusal to follow orders highly unlikely.

#20 | Posted by donnerboy at 2026-04-25 12:39 PM | Reply