SpaceX, Palantir, and OpenAI are reportedly teaming up to get some sweet money from defense contractors

new Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Just dropped: According to the Financial TimesAnd major defense technology companies Palantir Palmer Lucky Anduril is in talks with SpaceX and OpenAI (among other technology players) to form a consortium to bid for US government defense contracts.

The goal of the group, which reportedly plans to announce its membership next January, is to disrupt “prime” contractors who are used to closing big deals with the Pentagon. In the consortium’s crosshairs are Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing.

There is no doubt that legacy brands are doing well in the defense business. According to Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2023 ReviewLockheed Martin received $61.4 billion, RTX (née Raytheon) received $24.1 billion, and Boeing received $20.1 billion. In 2021, 71% of Lockheed Martin’s total revenues It came from contracts with the US government. Just under 50% of Boeing and RTX’s total annual sales went to the feds during the same time period. As the American Prospect previously noted, this is it Mainly state-funded companies But the government has no real control over operations or leadership.

Will the country’s safety and security then be improved by disrupting the Big Three’s grip on the Pentagon? Perhaps, under the assumption that the large-scale production of weapons of war and their supply to allies in conflicts that often range from mere genocide is a net positive for national security, Let’s call that questionable.

but this A certain group of technology companies as a hammer to crush the oligopoly? It is not clear that this represents an improvement on the status quo.

Palantir has carved out a niche for itself as the Department of Defense’s destination for AI systems. Just this year, it faltered Contract worth $100 million To build AI-powered military targeting tools 480 million dollars To expand the Pentagon’s data analysis and decision-making tools. The company has been more than happy to lend its technology to programs that are at best ethically questionable, including being the technological backbone of the Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, helping reach this outcome. Disintegration of immigrant families and Facilitating mass raids Which led to the separation of children from parents. Company Technology has also been central to Israel’s ongoing blockade In Gaza, which has More than 45,000 people were killed.

Anduril called “The most controversial startup in technologyBy Bloomberg, it has built sensor towers to be used on the US-Mexico border to track migrants, and it has Explore the development of autonomous weapons. The company’s big play is Building drones for warbut she also has her eyes on her Building surveillance satellitesall of which carry some serious ethical questions attached.

OpenAI recently announced a partnership with Anduril to work on it Anti-drone systemsbut it seems likely that this will be the first of many collaborations if the consortium comes together. Agreement that caused some Unrest among OpenAI employees Who do not particularly want to get involved in doing defensive work, OpenAI quietly follows The language has been removed from its usage policy Restricting the use of technology for military and military purposes.

And above all, it’s Peter Thiel all the way, baby. Thiel, the not-so-quiet techno-libertarian lizard man He tries to put his assistants in as many branches of government as possible, and has his hands essentially in all of them. He founded Palantir, co-founded OpenAI, provided significant financial backing behind Anduril, and was an early-stage investor in SpaceX. He has proven to be a less than conscientious person with an ideology that can Very generously It can be summarized as “technological progress regardless of human cost.” Thiel’s biographer, Max Chavkin, Time said That’s something Thiel should be afraid of: “When you combine hostility to democracy and institutional norms with billionaire funding, you can potentially do some damage,” he says.

Suddenly, perhaps not so much malignant evil but the status quo of old-school defense contractors seems downright bad.