SpaceX, Palantir, and OpenAI are allegedly joining forces to secure financial benefits from defense contractors.
The Latest Four Horsemen of Armageddon have emerged: As reported by the Financial Times, defense tech companies Palantir and Palmer Luckey's Anduril are in discussions with SpaceX and OpenAI (alongside other tech giants) to create a consortium aiming to bid for US government defense contracts.
The consortium, aiming to unveil its members by January, is targeting the "main" contractors who frequently secure huge deals with the Pentagon. In the crosshairs of the consortium, there's Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing.
It's scarcely debatable that traditional organizations excel in securing defense projects. According to the Department of Defense's Fiscal Year 2023 review, Lockheed Martin amassed $61.4 billion, Raytheon (formerly RTX) made $24.1 billion, and Boeing earned $20.1 billion. In 2021, an astounding 71% of Lockheed Martin’s revenue derived from US government contracts. For both Boeing and RTX, nearly half of their annual earnings came from federal funding during the same period. The American Prospect earlier noted that these companies can be considered government-funded yet untamed entities that control their operations and leadership without any actual oversight.
Would dismantling the Big Three's stranglehold on the Pentagon improve national safety and security? Perhaps, under the assumption that mass-producing weapons of war and supplying them to allies for conflicts spanning the spectrum from justifiable to genocidal boosts national security, but this concept merits serious skepticism.
But is this specific group of tech companies, the ideal tool to rectify the oligopoly? The answer isn't clear.
Palantir has established itself as the Defense Department's go-to for AI applications. In 2022 alone, it secured a $100 million contract to create AI-powered targeting systems for the military and another $480 million to enhance the Pentagon's data analysis and decision-making tools. The company has eagerly provided its technology to questionable projects, such as backing the Trump administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, contributing to the division of migrant families and facilitating large-scale raids resulting in the separation of children from parents. Additionally, Palantir's technology has played a significant role in Israel's prolonged siege on Gaza, costing the lives of over 45,000 people.
Anduril, dubbed "tech's most contentious startup" by Bloomberg, has installed sensor towers on the US-Mexico border to monitor migrant movement and has explored the creation of autonomous weapons. Anduril's primary focus lies in constructing drones for warfare but also has designs on building surveillance satellites, raising numerous ethical quandaries.
OpenAI announced a partnership with Anduril to develop anti-drone solutions, and if the consortium materializes, it's likely that this will be the beginning of a series of collaborations. The partnership, causing tension among OpenAI employees unwilling to engage in defense projects, came following the secretive removal of language from OpenAI's usage policy restricting the use of its technology for military and warfare purposes.
To top it off, it's Peter Thiel all the way down. The techno-libertarian lizard man, who has covertly tried to place his acolytes in various government entities, has a hand in nearly every one of these companies. He founded Palantir, co-founded OpenAI, provided substantial funding for Anduril, and was an early investor in SpaceX. Thiel's unscrupulous behavior and ideology, which can be generously described as "technological progress at any cost," has instilled fear in those who have studied him. Max Chafkin, Thiel's biographer, recently told Time that Thiel is a terrifying figure, stating, "When you couple the hostility towards democracy and institutional norms with the wealth of a billionaire, you can potentially inflict serious damage."
Suddenly, the seemingly evil yet mundane nature of old-school defense contractors may appear less menacing.
The tech-focused consortium's ambition extends beyond the current market, aiming to shape the future of defense technology. With Palantir's advancements in AI and data analysis, the group could significantly impact military strategies and capabilities in the years to come.
Given Thiel's involvement in multiple tech companies involved, there's potential for a unified approach to technology development in defense and beyond, shaping the future tech landscape.
