As American companies and executives strike a balance by publicly addressing hot-button political topics, Palantir CEO Alex Karp said many people still struggle to figure out when they should and when they shouldn’t.
“One of the problems companies have is that it’s very hard for them to understand what they’re producing for a higher mission, and so they can’t really decide where to speak and where they probably don’t have to speak, Karp told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin Aspen Ideas Festival This week. “Then just general issues, if you’re going to use our product for things we don’t support, we think we have to speak up.”
Calls for companies to take a stand on social issues have only increased in recent years, most recently after abortion. The US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week,
Karp, who noted that he is pro-choice, said Palantir has always provided for people to leave the states or go to places where their rights are protected, and that we pay for people and their families. If they require access to medical treatment or an abortion.”
Karp also addressed how divergent views emerged in recent years at his own company with Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, one of the biggest donors to Republican candidates. Thiel was also on the executive committee of the transition team for President Donald Trump, whom Karp has criticized publicly and privately.
“One of the problems in this country is that there aren’t enough people like Peter and me; we’ve been fighting about things for 30 years,” Karp said. “You have to do political dialogue, and then in business dialogue we tend to have similar notions but not always the same interpretations. … I really enjoy my discourse with Peter on areas where I think he The best in the world, and we don’t agree politically.”
Palantir CEO Alex Karp arrives ahead of the “Tech for Good” meetup at Hotel Marigny in Paris on May 15, 2019, to discuss good practices for technology giants.
Bertrand Gue | AFP | Getty Images
Karp admitted that while he “got in trouble” for some of the things he publicly said about Trump, the insight he gained from talking with people like Thiel led him to believe Trump was going to win in 2016. .
“I think it’s a big problem in our society; I want to hear what anyone else thinks, and well I think I’m right so we can argue about it if you have an argument. ” “I think a lot of my progressive friends have a slight inferiority complex—if you’re right, why do you care if you’re communicating with the wrong person? I love that.”
“I have a very strong opinion; prove me wrong, I’d love to hear it,” he said.
As companies come under fire from politicians for sharing views they don’t agree with, as in the case of Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a company like Palantir, which has most of its business with the public sector and governments, could potentially face a similar setback.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Isn’t Stopped While Holding Government Contracts From being a critic of a permanent presidentKarp said part of the issue stems from companies speaking out on issues that are not in their usual focus.
“We have all these people who tell me that I shouldn’t speak publicly on a lot of issues, and I speak very freely on all kinds of things that can get me in trouble and I think our Customers are very tolerant of that,” Karp said. , “But they also know that I’m in business … the most important issues at the moment are issues that I have some expertise in.”
Karp said those issues are: “What would the world look like if our adversaries won, or we won? Under what circumstances would the software be implemented? Will that software rob our civil liberties? How would that software protect our civil liberties? Can do? “
“On those issues, I speak up all the time,” he said.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal News Group is the media partner of the Aspen Ideas Festival.