Tech Explained: Here’s a simplified explanation of the latest technology update around Tech Explained: ‘Second place is extinction’: Palantir Tech CEO Alex Karp frames AI race as US-China binary battle in Simple Termsand what it means for users..
Speaking at an event hosted by the Hudson Institute, Karp said the next year would be decisive in determining which country shapes the future of AI.
“You can only explain the promise of AI if you understand and embrace the superiority of America and its culture, because there are dangers in AI. But the reality is, there’s only two cultures that are going to win in the next year. It’s going to be us or China,” Karp said.
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He repeated the warning: “There are only two cultures that are going to win in the next year. It’s going to be us or China.”
Karp argued that finishing second in this race would not simply mean losing market share. It would mean losing strategic influence.
In what he described as a binary contest, Karp suggested there is little room for Europe or other advanced economies to emerge as independent technology powers.
Countries that fail to build their own chips, AI models and digital infrastructure, he said, will end up depending on whichever side wins.
“We must, must embrace our ability to build it, our ability to own the chips, to own the software, build the large language models and run very, very quickly.”
Karp described AI as a “weapon system,” not a distant threat but an immediate strategic reality.
“If we are not the ones controlling the violence, we will not be dictating the rule of law, the things we hold precious in this culture, I would say, embodied by our Constitution, and especially in our first four amendments, those things will not be the same if we are not the dominant technological culture in the world,” he said.
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His remarks come amid intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing over advanced semiconductors, export controls and AI development.
The US has tightened restrictions on chip exports to China, while China has stepped up investment in domestic computing power and research.
Karp dismissed the idea that global rules or ethical debates would slow the competition.
“No one is coming to defend you. You have to defend yourself… If we’re waiting for people to articulate and fight for us, we are cooked,” he said.
His comments reflect a growing view within sections of Corporate America and the US security establishment that leadership in AI is not just about business, but about power and about whose values shape the 21st century.
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