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Palantir Technologies Inc. is an American software company that builds large-scale data integration and analytics platforms for government agencies, military branches, and commercial businesses. Palantir’s technology lies at the heart of the government systems that enable mass surveillance and militarization at home and abroad, and is now moving into healthcare.  The profits go to founder Peter Thiel and CEO Alex Karp, tech oligarchs who spend millions to promote a political agenda that favors free-market policies and increasingly supports Republican candidates and Trump-aligned PACs.  Protests and public acrimony are growing.

As Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people draw international condemnation, its support among US voters is shrinking, and with it the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the wealthy and powerful pro-Israel lobbying organization.  AIPAC’s backing, once crucial to candidates, is no longer a sure path to election and in some progressive districts is becoming a liability.

As AI rapidly expands its impact over our lives, jobs, and politics, more and more people are raising alarms about its potential harms.  In many cases, those speaking out about the danger are those who know the most: current and former workers in the industry.

According to a Gallup poll, the majority of people don’t want data centers built near their homes. Communities are taking their objections to the ballot box, and legislators are taking notice.  State and local governments are enacting regulations and ending tax breaks.  The data center industry is fighting back, spending millions to influence elections and promote tech friendly policies and candidates.

Uber has buried statistics on assaults and accidents on its platform for years.  Journalists and advocates have dug hard and are revealing disturbing levels of both.  As more customers are suing the company for its inadequate safety measures, Uber is responding with a ballot initiative in California that would limit its liability for accidents, and consumer attorneys are supporting measures that would increase Uber’s liability and accountability.

Do social media companies try to hook children on their products?  Do they fail to adequately protect those children from harmful content, predators, and exploitation?  Millions of parents would probably agree with the juries in California and Texas that recently answered those questions with a resounding yes.  As a result, one young plaintiff was awarded $6 million from YouTube and Meta in one case, and Meta was ordered to pay $374 million in civil penalties in the other.  Meta and YouTube have, of course, vowed to appeal.   Despite a growing awareness of the risks to children and teens online, new legislation on children’s online safety remains stalled in Congress, and a robust regulatory system is nowhere in sight.

The Pentagon is enriching the pockets of the tech billionaire owners of AI companies. While the Department of Defense/War has broken its contract with the company Anthropic, other AI companies are signing large contracts, such as Open AI and Palantir.

Tech billionaires are spending at historic levels to influence politics in California.  Google and Facebook, and their  CEO’s, are donating heavily to key races in November 2026, as are venture capitalists, cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, and Palantir’s co-founders. Whether or not the candidates they are backing win, they will have an impact.