Palantir CEO Alex Karp: The most important issue of our time is war and peace

>>> WELCOME BACK TO "SQUAWK BOX. YESTERDAY HERE IN DAVOS, I SPOKE TO PALANTIR'S CEO ALEX KARP AND ASKED ABOUT HIS RECENT TRIP TO ISRAEL >> THE MAIN REASON I WENT IS BECAUSE CORPORATE LEADERS WHO ARE RUNNING COMPANIES NEED TO STOP PARROTING THINGS WE DON'T BELIEVE AND BEING SILENT WHENIT IS CON TRO INVE TROTROVERSIAL WITH ONE OF THE WORST TERROR ATTACKS OF SEXUAL BARBERISM WE HAVE SEEN IN 100 YEARS IT IS UP TO US TO SPEAK LOUDLY AND PRIVATE, BUT SHOW WHAT WE MEAN IN PUBLIC CORE TO DEFENDING THE WEST FOR ME IS NOT JUST ME GOING TO ISRAEL I'M WELL KNOWN THERE OUR PRODUCTS ARE USED THIS I'M PROUD OF THAT. BRINGING THE BOARD TO SAY YOU CAN DEBATE ABOUT ISRAEL. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTACKING IT ARE CALLING INTO QUESTION THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE THOROUGHLY DEMOCRATIC WESTERN COUNTRY DEFENDING OUR RIGHTS WE CANNOT JUST SPEAK LOUDLY AND PRIVATE. ONE OF THE KEY ISSUES YOU FIND HERE IS PEOPLE WANT TO TALK ABOUT BUILDING TRUST NO ONE CAN TRUST THE ELITE IF EVERYTHING YOU ARE SAYING IS A HALF TRUTH AT BEST >> YOU RAN A FULL PAGE AD IN "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AFTER THE TRAGEDY IN ISRAEL. YOU WERE THE ONLY COMPANY DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT WHAT WAS THE REACTION TO THAT FROM YOUR FELLOW CEOs? >> LOOK, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE YOU ARE BEEP BEEP CRAZY YOU WILL GET IN A LOT OF TROUBLE. PEOPLE WILL CALL UP AND YELL AT YOU. MY REACTION TO THEM WAS IS NEVER AGAIN MEAN I NEVER TAKE THE RISK OF MY OWN CAREER IT WAS ALWAYS HARD IN HISTORY TO STAND UP AGAINST DISCRIMINATION. BRUTAL ACTS AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE. WE ARE AT THE POINT WHERE YOU HAVE TO STAND UP YOU KNOW, THE INTERESTING THING IS IN PRIVATE, A LOT OF PEOPLE AGREE WITH ME. THEIR POSITION IS YOU CAN'T SAY IT IN PUBLIC BECAUSE YOU WILL OFFEND SOMEONE THIS IS WRONG. YOU CAN NO LONGER LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE YOU ARE NOT SAYING SOMETHING THAT WILL OFFEND IF YOU ARE GOING TO DEFEND SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO DEFEND IT >> WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ABOUT COMPANIES SPEAKING OUT ABOUT LOTS OF OTHER SOCIAL ISSUES THAT YOU THINK THEY DON'T BELIEVE >> THE CORE REASONS WHY PEOPLE WHO ARE BASICALLY DECENT AND WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN AMERICA HAVE BASICALLY NO TRUST IN THEELITE EVERYONE SENSES THEY SPOKEN OUT ON THINGS THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN AND THEY SET A PRECEDENT THE PRECEDENT THEY SET IS I'M GOING TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT MORAL CAUSES OKAY, NOW YOU HAVE A CRUCIAL MORAL CAUSE. YOU CAN BE AGAINST WHAT I'M SAYING YOU CAN BE AGAINST STANDING WITH ISRAEL YOU CANNOT SAY YOU DON'T HAVE AN OPINION. YOU HAVE AN OPINION. YOU HAVE FALLEN ON YOUR HEAD THERE ARE PEOPLE IN CORPORATE AMERICA WHO SAY I NEVER HAVE AN OPINION. MY OPINION IS THE SHAREHOLDERS I'M SYMPATHETIC WITH THEM. IF YOU SPENT THE LAST FIVE YEARS LECTURING ABOUT ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT NO ONE BELIEVES YOU BELIEVE IN PRIVATE, YOU CAN'T JUST WAKE UP THE NEXT DAY AND SAY I CAN'T SPEAK ABOUT THIS THING I BELIEVE OR SAY I HAVE NO OPINION. IT IS CRAZY RIDICULOUS AND UNDERMINES THE FABRIC OF DEMOCRACY BECAUSE NO ONE BELIEVES IT. >> ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS IN DAVOS IS ONE WE HAVE NOT SEEN ABOUT WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING ON THE GROUND IN ISRAEL. THE CONVERSATION ABOUT ANTI-SEMITISM AND WHAT IS HAPPENING IN INSTITUTIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD IT IS NOT HERE YET IT SEEMS LIMITED. >> DAVOS HAS AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION I LIVE ON A DIFFERENT PLANET THE PLANET I LIVE IN, CLIMATE IS IMPORTANT, FIGHTING BIGOTRY OF ALL KIND IS IMPORTANT THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OF OUR TIME IS WAR AND PEACE. THE METAPHOR FOR THAT IS WHAT I GOING ON IN ISRAEL ANY PREJUDICE IS THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE. YOU ARE NOT PROVIDING REAL FEAR OF GROWTH POPULATION YOU ARE NOT EXPLAINING IT AND YOU JUST GO AND BLAME THE JEWS ANY ENTERPRISE THAT IS ABOUT MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE THAT DOESN'T DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES IS BASICALLY SAYING I'M NOT ENGAGING IN THE PROBLEM. THIS IS NOT JUST A PROBLEM HERE, BUT A PROBLEM WITH ALL SORTS OF INSTITUTIONS WITH HIGHER EDUCATION TO FAKE DISCUSSIONS IN THE CORPORATE AMERICA AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES. I DON'T KNOW WHY IT FALLS ON ME TO SAY THE OBVIOUS THIS IS OBVIOUSLY JUST SHOWING YOU ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE REAL PROBLEM. >> CAN YOU SPEAK TO YOUR RECRUITING EFFORTS AND HOW YOU ARE CHANGING THEM IN WHERE YOU PLAN TO RECRUIT PEOPLE FROM AND HOW YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT USED TO BE THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS GROUPS IN AMERICA >> PALANTIR TESTS EVERYONE YOU WENT TO HARVARD, WE TEST THEM COMMUNITY COLLEGE? WE TEST YOU. IN THE '50s IN AMERICA, A YALE ALUM, AND YOU GOT TESTED, YOU WOULD BE OFFENDED. THE LEGITIMACY IS SO MUCH WEAKER OF THE INSTITUTIONS. YOU WILL MOVE TO THE ME METHODOLOGY. I KNOW WHAT OUR TEST IS. >> YOU SAY REFORM OUR INSTI INSTITUTIONS WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? >> ACROSS DEMOCRACY IN THE WEST. WE HAVE A VERY LARGE FOCUS ON WHAT WE PAY, NOT WHAT COMES OUT. IN TECH, WE HAVE ABSOLUTE MIOPIC FOCUS ON WHAT GOES OUT NOT GOES IN. OUR INSTITUTIONS HAVE TO MOVE FROM WHAT DID WE SPEND TO WHAT DID WE GET THAT IS SCARY BECAUSE THE OUTCOMEPARTICIPATE THE REALITY OF THE WEST AND EVERY INSTITUTION DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU SPEND. IT MATTE

Channel: CNBC Television

Views: 59,352

Keywords: Squawk Box U.S., CNBC, business news, finance stock, stock market, news channel, news station, breaking news, us news, world news, cable, cable news, finance news, money, money tips, financial news, stock market news, stocks

Id: TOKxGT2womY

Length: 6min 58sec (418 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 18 2024