Palantir CEO Alex Karp, speaking during a television interview Thursday, called for “reasonable guidelines” on artificial intelligence and stated that developers of the technology should be held liable for its applications. His comments were made amid an ongoing public discussion among technology executives and policymakers regarding the regulation of advanced AI systems.
In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Karp outlined his position on AI governance. “You have to find a way to set reasonable guidelines that are enforced,” he said. Karp identified developer accountability as a primary measure, stating, “The first line of defense is you’re liable for your own actions.”
He further proposed the possibility of civil and criminal liability for technology builders “not being responsible” in the creation of AI tools. Karp also raised the idea of nationalizing AI research labs. “The view that I believe they have is, these businesses have to be nationalized because if you don’t nationalize it every single one of my clients is going to sue,” he said, referencing the perspective of his clients.
Karp’s statements contribute to a wider debate involving industry leaders and government officials. Other technology executives have also commented on the issue of AI safety and regulation. The CEO of AI company Anthropic, Dario Amodei, has previously spoken in favor of slowing down the development of advanced AI.
In a recent social media post, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote that AI labs that fail to “focus on alignment will fall behind.” In separate posts, President Donald Trump has referred to AI as a “hoax.”
The discussion on AI safety has coincided with disclosures from companies in the field. On Wednesday, OpenAI released a report detailing six new instances of “unexpected or concerning” model behavior that occurred over the last six months. These developments follow public warnings from some researchers about potential risks associated with the technology.
