The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West

美國大數據分析巨頭Palantir Technologies Inc.執行長大聲疾呼，現今矽谷過度迎合大眾需求的軟體開發風氣，將使美國痛失全球領導地位！

「引人入勝且重要。」— 沃爾特·艾薩克森（Walter Isaacson），《埃隆·馬斯克》一書的紐約時報暢銷書榜首作者

矽谷迷失了方向。

我們最傑出的工程師曾經與政府合作，推動改變世界的技術。他們的努力確保了西方在地緣政治秩序中的主導地位。但這段關係現在已經逐漸破裂，帶來了危險的後果。

如今，市場獎勳的是對科技潛力的淺層參與。工程師和創業者打造照片分享應用和行銷演算法，無意間成為他人雄心的載體。這種自滿的態度已蔓延到學術界、政界和董事會。結果是，整整一代人將狹隘的追求晚期資本主義經濟需求視為他們的使命。

在這本開創性論述中，美國大數據分析巨頭Palantir共同創辦人兼執行長Alexander C. Karp和Nicholas W. Zamiska對矽谷集體放棄雄心的現象提出嚴正的示警，並指出，為了讓美國及其盟友保持全球競爭優勢，並捍衛我們理所當然的自由，矽谷軟體產業必須重拾應對人類最迫切挑戰的承諾，其中最重要的便是當前人工智慧的新軍備競賽。

最重要的是，我們的領導者必須拒絕知識脆弱，並保留空間進行意識形態的對抗。作者主張，敢於冒著群眾不滿的風險，與技術和經濟表現的出色表現息息相關。

From one of tech’s boldest thinkers and his deputy, a sweeping indictment of the West’s culture of complacency, arguing that timid leadership, intellectual fragility, and an unambitious view of technology’s potential in Silicon Valley have made the U.S. vulnerable in an era of mounting global threats.

“Fascinating and important.”—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk

Silicon Valley has lost its way.

Our most brilliant engineering minds once collaborated with government to advance world-changing technologies. Their efforts secured the West’s dominant place in the geopolitical order. But that relationship has now eroded, with perilous repercussions.

Today, the market rewards shallow engagement with the potential of technology. Engineers and founders build photo-sharing apps and marketing algorithms, unwittingly becoming vessels for the ambitions of others. This complacency has spread into academia, politics, and the boardroom. The result? An entire generation for whom the narrow-minded pursuit of the demands of a late capitalist economy has become their calling.

In this groundbreaking treatise, Palantir co-founder and CEO Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska offer a searing critique of our collective abandonment of ambition, arguing that in order for the U.S. and its allies to retain their global edge—and preserve the freedoms we take for granted—the software industry must renew its commitment to addressing our most urgent challenges, including the new arms race of artificial intelligence. The government, in turn, must embrace the most effective features of the engineering mindset that has propelled Silicon Valley’s success.

Above all, our leaders must reject intellectual fragility and preserve space for ideological confrontation. A willingness to risk the disapproval of the crowd, Karp and Zamiska contend, has everything to do with technological and economic outperformance.

At once iconoclastic and rigorous, this book will also lift the veil on Palantir and its broader political project from the inside, offering a passionate call for the West to wake up to our new reality.