Enacting violence on others in pursuit of good aims

The new libertarians in power in the United States are swimming in their contradictions. While they loudly advocate for unbridled liberalization in all areas, they are systematically putting in place surveillance technologies that will allow them to carry out their imperialist agenda. However, this exacerbation of American patriotism, these refrains glorifying and elevating the regained (or to be regained) power of their country will inevitably generate violence. In fact, what is commonly referred to as Big Tech is developing cutting-edge technologies of rare sophistication thanks to AI, with military purposes. The conclusion, today, is clear: the innovation of these American tech giants is serving U.S. foreign policy.

Here is Microsoft, winning numerous defense contracts, including for the development of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) for the U.S. Army. This $22 billion program aims to enhance the “situational awareness” of the troops through augmented reality.

Meta, for its part, has recently entered this field by making its large language model, Llama, available to its military clients.

Google contributes to military technology through its Project Maven, which uses AI to analyze drone footage for surveillance and targeting purposes.

A major provider of cloud services for the Department of Defense and the CIA, already significantly integrated into defense operations, Amazon stands out for its activism in developing AI tools for logistical optimization and battlefield analysis.

As for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite systems, they have simply become indispensable to U.S. military operations. Elon Musk’s company is also developing a constellation of bespoke spy satellites for U.S. intelligence agencies, further cementing its role in American national security.

Less well-known, perhaps, but just as valuable for U.S. authorities: Anduril, the company founded by Palmer Luckey, which initially made a name for itself with its migrant-detecting surveillance towers. Since then, it has diversified into developing autonomous drones, missiles, robots, and other technologies dedicated to American defense.

Yet, none of these tech giants symbolizes what must now be called “American techno-militarism enthusiasm” better than Palantir, founded by Peter Thiel, which was one of the first to receive early funding from the CIA’s venture capital arm.

Yes! Even an institution like the CIA now has a pool of funds to finance startups that will, in turn, be useful to it.

Thus, Gotham, developed by Palantir, is indispensable for intelligence agencies, security forces, and other government entities in integrating, analyzing, and visualizing large amounts of data from various sources, such as surveillance, intelligence reports, geospatial information, and interception data. Gotham synthesizes an overview of complex situations by cross-referencing all this data and enables personnel to make decisions in terms of counterterrorism or military missions. Palantir also provides the Pentagon with its Foundry program for logistical management and supply chains, which have supported Ukraine against Russia and Israel in targeting Hamas fighters in Gaza.

Welcome, in short, to the radiant techno-military future of the United States of America!

Allow me to quote Palmer Luckey, American entrepreneur and founder of Anduril Industries, famous for its surveillance and detection systems using artificial intelligence: “Societies have always needed a warrior class that is enthused and excited about enacting violence on others in pursuit of good aims.”

How far away seems the time when, in his farewell speech in January 1961, President Eisenhower warned about the “military-industrial complex.” Sixty-four years later, Joe Biden talks about a new type of oligarchy: the “techno-industrial” one.

The current U.S. president often claims to be a man of peace. Meanwhile, he is surrounded on all sides by companies to whom war — or as many wars as possible — will bring the maximum profit and even more power.