Palantir's big AI bet

Hi, it’s Lizette in San Francisco. Palantir said it’s going big on AI, and investors rejoiced. But first...Today’s must-reads:• Tucker Carls [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi, it’s Lizette in San Francisco. Palantir said it’s going big on AI, and investors rejoiced. But first... Today’s must-reads: • Tucker Carlson says he’s launching a [new show on Twitter]( • Wendy’s turns to AI-powered chatbots for [drive-thru orders]( • SpaceX bets steel plates will [keep launchpad from blowing up]( The AI deterrent On a call with Wall Street analysts this week, Palantir Chief Executive Officer Alex Karp outlined the company’s strategy in artificial intelligence: “Just take the whole market.” That sounded like a great plan to investors. Shares of Palantir Technologies Inc., the sometimes-controversial data analysis company co-founded by Peter Thiel, surged 23% on Tuesday. It didn’t hurt that the company also expects to make money every quarter in 2023, marking its [first-ever profitable year](. But while Palantir’s ambitions in AI are clear, its path to get there is still murky. The company plans to begin rolling out the first version of AIP, which stands for Artificial Intelligence Platform, to “select customers” in the coming weeks. In videos on its website, the company laid out how the [product could be used]( in a commercial setting (for example, recovering from a supply chain shock) and a military one (suggesting strategies to deal with threats). Palantir has been touting its AI offerings for a while, but in its earnings call this week, it used the term “AI” and its synonyms 50 times. Karp said that right now, the company has “no pricing strategy” for its AI products. He explained: “We’re going to get hundreds of customers and we will price it as we go. One of the things we’ve seen over and over again is, when you’re ahead of the market, you need to take territory.” The core of Palantir’s pitch is that it’s well positioned to handle extremely sensitive AI tools, in part of because of its long experience with classified networks. The company’s largest clients are the American government and the governments of other allied countries.  Karp urged caution about the use of AI in a letter to shareholders this week, writing, “The machine must remain subordinate to its creator.” Palantir has stressed that its AI tools won’t actually do anything without human oversight. Still, AI researchers have long been wary about the introduction of the technology to military contexts. AI is often described as the next arms race, with the potential to transform modern-day warfare. There are some who believe the technology should be kept far away from the military, where it has the potential to [power new types of weapons of mass destruction](. On the other side, experts argue that the greater danger is letting a geopolitical rival figure AI out first. On the earnings call, Karp described Palantir’s technology the way most people would describe any powerful weapon: as a deterrent. You “create software that is so obviously dominant that adversaries quiver and scurry away,” he said, “instead of attacking us or our allies.” Hopefully it works. —[Lizette Chapman](mailto:lchapman19@bloomberg.net) The big story AI drug discovery is a $50 billion opportunity for Big Pharma. Artificial intelligence can [shave years off the development process](, and several potential drugs that were identified by startups using AI are already in human trials. Get fully charged Airbnb shares tumbled after it gave a cautious revenue forecast, suggesting rising prices and a murky economic outlook are beginning to [weigh on consumer appetite for trips](. Meta is giving Facebook and Instagram creators a way to [make money based on how many people view]( their videos, a bid to lure users from rival TikTok. LinkedIn plans to shutter its jobs app in China and cut about 716 jobs, as the service [shrinks its presence]( in the world’s No. 2 economy. More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech newsletters in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Hyperdrive]( for expert insight into the future of cars Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Tech Daily newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](