During an appearance at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Karp sat down with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to create a blunt rotation of a nightmare: two guys who have invested heavily in the military industrial complex and the surveillance industry talking about how great these things are for society. Karp, as he has been doing lately, made some strange statements during the half-hour conversation, but perhaps none more shocking than his barely complete idea that AI will create so many jobs that there will basically be no reason for anyone to immigrate to another country.
Asked whether AI would destroy or create jobs, Karp began to answer the question vaguely by asking how white-collar jobs would be affected and how professional jobs would thrive. Then, after saying, “Don’t fall into any of my political opinions,” he proceeded to differ in one of his political opinions. He said, “There will be more than enough jobs for citizens of your country, especially for those with vocational training. I think these trends really make it hard to imagine why we should have mass immigration unless you have very specific skills.”
Of course, there are many reasons why people leave their country to start a life elsewhere other than looking for a job; From political instability and war to environmental threats (*cough AI*). And of course, there are many reasons why a country might want to accept immigrants other than the fact that they can contribute to the economy – like, for example, there is a moral imperative to accept people fleeing political persecution, especially when it was American interference in foreign affairs that contributed to much of that instability in the first place.
Karp, who at least managed to remain in his seat for most of the interview this time, had a lot to say about a lot of things that seemed unrelated to the original prompt. In response to a question about whether fewer white-collar workers would be needed in the future, he somehow recommended to his engineers that he stop speaking publicly. Obviously, he did not take that advice.
This inconsistency was on full display, with funny aspects of how, despite his distaste for higher education, he dreams of going back to graduate school – but not for the education, just for “fun.” At one point, he noted that one of the heads of Palantir’s Maven system, an AI tool meant to be used on the battlefield by the US military, had only completed junior college and declared that he probably didn’t even need it. “Would they have been as talented if they hadn’t gone to college? Yes,” he said, as if whatever talent or intelligence the person has is simply inherent.
Perhaps Carp believes that he hasn’t really learned any skills through university and hasn’t influenced the way he thinks, communicates or understands the world in any way, and that he would come out exactly the way he is now without ever setting foot in school. Given that he has a PhD in philosophy, it probably says more about him than his education if he completed that course without challenging his own beliefs.
Trying to piece together Carp’s ideas and ideology is a fool’s errand. He appears to believe most clearly that he should succeed and prosper, and that the world should go along with that result.
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