From the Palantir co-founder, one of tech’s boldest thinkers and The Economist’s “best CEO of 2024,” 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 ONE OF FINANCIAL TIMES’ MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR 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.
A: “技术共和国”是指一个国家的实力和在全球的地位，是由其创新能力所推动和提升的。作者认为，美国自建国以来就是一个技术共和国，其创新能力促进了国家的发展。
A: 因为美国和其盟友若想保持优势，就必须将商业与国家目标融合，将市场规律与集体利益相结合。这种结合是确保美国及其盟友能继续保持领先地位的关键。
A: 本书批评硅谷过于关注狭隘的消费产品，忽视了对国家安全和公共福利的贡献。作者认为，硅谷的科技精英有责任参与国家建设，捍卫西方价值观。
本书的目标读者包括：
本书创作于一个全球地缘政治日益紧张的时期，尤其是在人工智能技术的新军备竞赛背景下。作者反思了美国科技行业与政府之间关系的历史演变，以及这种关系对国家安全和技术进步的影响。该书也探讨了在技术快速发展和地缘政治风险加剧的背景下，重塑国家认同和目标的重要性。
