1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,837 What have we learned about AI in business that's relevant? And what I 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:08,277 what I what am I pretty certain is going to affect our culture? 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:10,837 In in philosophy, which I was once going 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:16,557 to be my métier, and I realized should not be for lots of reasons, including 5 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:20,037 most importantly, I thought it was more important to actually do things. But it 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,517 it One of the things people forget about philosophy is the core concepts are 7 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,517 actually downstream from things that were built in the world. Modern 8 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:28,517 architecture led to modern philosophy. 9 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:32,477 Postmodern architecture led to postmodern philosophy. And there's a 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,157 weird way in which I think a lot of the trends that look inscrutable to us are 11 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,477 actually downstream of tech and culture 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,837 and are particularly pronounced in this culture, which is the only culture that 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,477 really really matters in AI. It's from 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:50,997 chips and what we call ontology to large language models to the town, to the 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:52,677 venture backing, to the understanding of 16 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,237 how to organize the town. They're in one 17 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,597 country. And this our country. And this 18 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,357 does not make sense because the it wouldn't could have made sense in other 19 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,077 trends, but actually the mathematical 20 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,037 basis of large language models started 21 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:12,477 in in in Germany. It was Leibniz's idea of how to do probability and then moved 22 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,037 through France. And the best mathematicians in the world are mostly 23 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,597 in France and in Russia. And so, what 24 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:20,517 was it and what is it about what's 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,157 happening that is affecting things that 26 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,597 look very odd? Why do 27 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,277 Ivy League trained humanities highly 28 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,317 privileged people vote against their 29 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,597 interest, seemingly, to elect political 30 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:39,597 figures with no experience and who clearly Why are they misaligned with 31 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,477 their own interests? Would be a question. And then, why is it in 32 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,397 America? And I want to just start with 33 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,117 the most obvious obvious point that is 34 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,717 so obvious we we forget that the rights 35 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,877 we have in this country are inalienable 36 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,677 and they're given to us by God. As you 37 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:58,877 compare this to, say, the German 38 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:03,797 constitution, which I wrote down the same as where we talk about endowed by 39 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:05,517 their creator with certain unalienable 40 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,437 rights, the German the German version, 41 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,557 which is translated roughly as a conscience conscience of his 42 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:16,917 responsibility before God, so not from God, and mankind, inspired by the will 43 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,397 of an equal member it to be part of this 44 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,557 is rough translation, United Europe and 45 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:24,557 to contribute to world peace. Okay. So, 46 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:29,157 we have these rights that are incorporated in our first and second and 47 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,037 in our fourth amendment that aren't 48 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,117 given to us by humans, they're given to 49 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,397 us by a higher power. That's very very 50 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,957 important in understanding. When you look at businesses as an example, some 51 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,957 businesses that look that are 5 years appear to be 20 years old. Some 52 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,197 businesses, you know, we have Rupert Murdoch here who seems to be getting 53 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,477 younger every year. Every year. 54 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,517 I've known you for a long time. Why is that? The principle And then we have 55 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,837 this So, you have this revelation. It's happening in a country which, at least 56 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,477 constitutionally, obviously not historically, is much much older than 57 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,397 Europe. Is Europe United Europe is only it's under 30 years old and it's still 58 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,757 not clear what it is really. You have a country which should not have been the 59 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,357 leader of what matters in the world, but 60 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:16,877 is the leader in the world. And then we 61 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,237 have a very big moral problem in the 62 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,957 basis of most humanity human rights, 63 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,437 historically, philosophically, legally, except for in America, have been based 64 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,637 on our basically superior cognitive capacities. 65 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:34,517 And, you know, as Huntington once famously said, we believe in the West 66 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,277 that our values are superior. The non-West understands it's our it's our 67 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,717 ability to organize violence, which is an an intellectual and technological 68 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:44,917 endeavor. And that's the thing that has 69 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,157 made us, at the end of the day, be able 70 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,757 to be superior over non-human life 71 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:52,917 forms. With large language models and 72 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,437 AI, you actually have the first time 73 00:03:55,520 --> 00:04:00,317 where we How do we justify our obvious superiority, not just as a culture, but 74 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,077 as a species, vis-à-vis something that may be able to do cognitive things that 75 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:09,037 we can't do? And we are the lone country that has the basis for this. Our rights 76 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,957 are not given to us by our intellectual superiority. They're not given to us by 77 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,957 consensus built in Germany or in the United Kingdom. They're not built to 78 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,477 dedicate to world peace, although that would be nice. They're given to us by 79 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,877 our right that we were born here as Americans and those rights are 80 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:26,957 indelible. This is a very big 81 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,157 distinction and it's one that we neglect 82 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,997 and do not talk about and for lots of reasons many in the Valley may not be 83 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,997 interested in talking about. And then there's And then what Why are these so 84 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,077 important? First of all, so obviously we have our rights vis-à-vis the machine. 85 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,597 And and I think And then you also have 86 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,397 What does it mean to be in a world where 87 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,197 you have very high-end labor being 88 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:53,157 exceedingly valuable? Formerly high-end 89 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,397 labor, meaning you studied humanities 90 00:04:55,480 --> 00:05:00,357 and you would be working in a 501c3 dedicated United Nations, not being 91 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,557 objectively valuable. I don't mean morally. Most of us here would look 92 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,197 askance at that as being misaligned with what they're saying. But even if you 93 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:12,797 don't view it that way, the reality is a large language model can do all that 94 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,117 work. And if it's an ontology, we can do 95 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:17,397 it much much better. So, it's 96 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,837 objectively not valuable. What is 97 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,357 valuable is working class vocationally 98 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:25,917 trained people with specific knowledge. 99 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,037 And here I would see it I see a tethering between the specificity of 100 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:34,317 America, that we have a constitution given to us by God, that we believe in 101 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,597 higher principles, that we defend them if we need to with our own guns, with 102 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,437 our own free speech, and with our own rights of privacy, and the specific 103 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,077 things that create value in the world now, meaning specific knowledge of how 104 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,757 to build something, how to target something, how to protect data, how to 105 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:53,157 be a nurse or a doctor. These skills can 106 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,237 be very leveraged and excruciatingly 107 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,917 important. So, you have a constitutional 108 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,797 and moral tethering of exactly what you would need in one specific culture, and 109 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,437 that's this culture. But you're going to have a lot of turbulence because we're 110 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,357 now moving from people who believe they 111 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:11,677 deserve empathy. This is one I think the 112 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,277 biggest tensions. One of the very 113 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:16,437 radical things about Palantir that our 114 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,757 enemies do not believe. We at Palantir 115 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:21,677 have maximal empathy for Americans, for 116 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:23,717 the right of Americans to be free, and 117 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,557 for men men and women that actually do 118 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,517 work. And our society, if you look at 119 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,517 any professions, what you'll see, we 120 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:33,637 read the laws so somehow the law will 121 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,837 not allow us to protect Americans who 122 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,677 are being murdered by fentanyl. But more than more Americans have died of 123 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,917 fentanyl than have died in any war since World War 124 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,757 If those were Stanford grads or Cornell 125 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:49,317 grads, you can bet your last dollar 126 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,997 their erudite jurisdictions would read the laws so that you could stop that. 127 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,277 But they're not. They're working class. 128 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,437 They're mostly male. They're mostly white. And mostly people don't care. And 129 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,277 we have to change that. When things go wrong because those people know that no 130 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,037 one cares about them, that's also our fault. Like not anyone in this room, but 131 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:12,597 like we don't show empathy. If you look at If you look at, for example, the way 132 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,877 analysts were neutrally do models, they love the people they like. It shows up 133 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,517 downstream in the model. That's why Palantir was undervalued. We were 134 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,197 undervalued and misunderstood because we 135 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,757 were doing radical crazy stuff they didn't like. If you look all across the 136 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,877 world and what you're seeing go on in America now is an enormous shift towards 137 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,557 we have to actually look at where the value is created and have empathy with 138 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,237 people who really deserve it. And those people have not gotten enough empathy 139 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,077 and technology is about to change that. 140 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,157 And it's going to change everything politically because it is actually real. 141 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,717 The worker, the person on the front, the people that write the scripts that 142 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:54,557 protect us. All those projects you saw are being done by people with vocational 143 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:59,797 training in the military. They're creating enormous value and they deserve 144 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:02,757 the respect that they're going to ask for and they're going to get. And 145 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:07,197 Palantir and all of us are Palantir are behind that. And that And I this just 146 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,557 And And then conversely, how do you get 147 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,357 a situation in this city where you just 148 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,837 vote for someone who has no experience 149 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:17,517 in doing what they're going to do? None. 150 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:22,637 Even Like I grew up I view myself as classically progressive. I care You know 151 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,277 what classically progressive is? The government has to work. You know what 152 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,037 that means? You need the very best people. Who are the people? They have 153 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:33,117 experience running complicated organizations. They have ideas on how to 154 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,757 run software. They understand the complexity of the law. They enforce it. 155 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,677 If you're really serious about making the things work for the worker, those 156 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,277 are the people you vote for. Those are the people that need to be in charge. 157 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:45,997 And that's that's why a lot of these 158 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:47,957 crazy things are actually very much 159 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,677 explicable based on what is going on in 160 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,077 AI and who's creating the value and how 161 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,797 they create it. Then, last maybe not least on the AI front, one of the 162 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,957 reasons we are in a kind of a doomer AI 163 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,277 circle is because you can only explain 164 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,837 the promise of AI if you understand and 165 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,637 embrace the superiority of America and 166 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:13,757 its culture. Because there are dangers in AI, but the reality is there's only 167 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,517 two cultures that are going to win in the next year. It's going to be us or 168 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:22,357 China. The Europe, I spend half my life in Europe. At this point, we when we 169 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,477 talk about Europe, we do exactly the same thing as when we hear about 170 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:28,997 educational programs in led by mayors or 171 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:33,197 safety programs in the inner city. We just say that I really hope it works 172 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,917 out. Please. And I want Europe to win. 173 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:37,837 But we're on our own. Of course there 174 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,677 are dangers in AI. And AI is also and 175 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,117 will never be anything other than a 176 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:48,517 dual-use technology. But we must must embrace our ability to build it, our 177 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,677 ability to own the chips, to own the software, build the large language 178 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,397 models, and run very very quickly. 179 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,717 Because, again, to quote Huntington 180 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:58,557 again, if we are not the ones 181 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,597 controlling the violence, we will not be 182 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:05,717 dictating the rule of law. The things we hold precious in this culture, I would 183 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:07,797 say embodied by our Constitution and 184 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:12,837 especially in our first four amendments, those things will not be the same if we 185 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,597 are not the dominant technological culture in the world. And while we may 186 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:21,397 have tons of disagreements on these things, we must be the those are really 187 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:23,557 the alternatives. And most of what we 188 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,397 can do, in my view, to counter our 189 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,797 adversaries is also to build the technology and then one of the lessons 190 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:35,317 of Palantir is no one's coming to defend you. You have to defend yourself. And we 191 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,317 used to live in a world where you could rely on experts to articulate our 192 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:43,197 vision. But who should have to articulate our vision in this last 193 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,397 election in my hometown, formerly hometown? Like we if we're waiting for 194 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,357 people to articulate and fight for us, we are cooked. And you know, the people 195 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,917 who disagree with us are like often better organized and 196 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,957 better motive and more motivated. And that's a huge problem we have to solve. 197 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,157 Palantirians, half of the reason we succeeded is we were just motivated and 198 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:06,917 very organized and very meritocratic. 199 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,717 Meritocracy is the most underestimated 200 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,597 powerful revolutionary tool that exists 201 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:15,557 in any enterprise ever. And that means, 202 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:17,437 you know, Shyam is a great example. 203 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:19,637 Shyam was not everyone's cup of tea. He 204 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,237 advanced because he really two reasons. 205 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:26,517 He advanced because I thought he was going to be an incredible human being. 206 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,477 And second, and I'll leave you with this, because I saw him interacting with 207 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:34,317 his brother and I was like, if he could love Palantir half as much as he loves 208 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:36,997 his brother, we are going to have the 209 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,197 most important enterprise in the world. 210 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,157 And like, the capacity to identify and 211 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,157 advance people on a meritocratic base 212 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,237 that have capacity to care is the single 213 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,677 most revolutionary tool. And my kind of 214 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:55,197 thinker has been infected, meaning the progressive party of the Democrats by 215 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,837 people who do not believe in this. And by the way, to my Democratic friends 216 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,917 here and whoever sees this, that we must 217 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:03,997 stand up. One of the most important 218 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,597 lessons in the West is if you do not 219 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:11,517 fight and in as importantly, if you accept the logic that you can never vote 220 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:15,677 for somebody because of they have some sub belief structure you disagree with, 221 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,317 you are empowering the radicals in your own party and they will control 222 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,957 everything. Whether it's immigration in Germany, which functionally controlled 223 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,437 by people that still believe in chain migration, because you can never do a 224 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,077 coalition with the right, or whether it's the Democratic Party that is 225 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,997 functionally being torn apart by people 226 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:34,757 who believe in anti-progressive, 227 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,237 anti-meritocratic values as embodied by 228 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,157 not having a border. No progressive ever 229 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,797 has believed in an open border. None, never, has never existed because that 230 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:49,557 undermines the value of workers and their labor. And if you want to see what 231 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:53,517 happens to a culture when you don't fight, look at there's who's standing up 232 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,037 in my former party to say this is ridiculous. Who stood up in Germany to 233 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,077 talk about migration? We cannot allow ourselves to become Europe. We really 234 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,677 have to fight. And I'm I'm sure many of the here are going to be involved in 235 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,757 that. And Palantir, I think has been at 236 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,117 the forefront of this and I'm most proud 237 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:15,317 of the fact that we've been able to shift the culture to being in Silicon 238 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,557 Valley away from being skeptical of America to being pro-America. The idea 239 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:23,677 that you would give tools to give Americans an unfair advantage in the on 240 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:28,357 the battlefield was viewed as heretical until recently. Now it's viewed as 241 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,637 common sense. The idea that we have we enforced 242 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,077 meritocracy when we were getting sued by 243 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:38,917 the DOJ for just basically just hiring the most qualified people. And if you do 244 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:43,597 that and you succeed, you can actually change the way people think. 245 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:47,880 And thank you.