The Technological Republic Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West

 
　　曾經，國內頂尖的科技人才與政府密切合作，主導足以改變世界的前瞻技術。他們的努力為西方在地緣政治秩序中確立了主導地位。然而如今市場鼓勵的，卻是那些只具備淺薄潛力的新技術──照片分享應用程式、行銷演算法等等，人們將重心放在狹隘地滿足資本主義晚期的需求。
 
　　美國大數據分析、大數據整合的龍頭公司Palantir，其創辦人暨執行長亞歷山大‧凱普（Alexander C. Karp）及尼可拉斯（Nicholas W. Zamiska）共同撰寫的新書《科技共和國：硬實力、軟信念與西方的未來》（The Technological Republic），對矽谷人才集體放棄雄心壯志的現象、當今矽谷與國家之間的關係，提出犀利批判。
 
　　當人工智慧啟動新軍備競賽，美國及西方盟友是否仍有實力維持主導地位？國家安全及民主陣線正面臨威脅，本書呼籲美國政府與矽谷科技公司共同啟動新一輪的合作計畫，聯手捍衛我們習以為常、卻岌岌可危的自由。(文/博客來編譯)
 
書籍評論：

　　「《科技共和國》是一部大膽且雄心勃勃的作品，它讓我們回想起科技人才曾經如何回應國家的召喚。在人工智慧的時代，這本書是必讀之作，因為矽谷的方向將決定美國在全球領導地位的未來。」——Google前CEO艾力克．施密特（Eric Schmidt）
 
　　「呼籲科技業與政府回歸二戰時期共同合作的關係，優先開發有助國家福祉和民主的創新科技，以因應人工智慧時代的挑戰。這是一部引人入勝且意義深遠的作品。」——《馬斯克傳》作者艾薩克森（ Walter Isaacson Walter Isaacson）
 
　　「所有關心科技可以如何協助保護美國價值觀與國家安全的人，都應該閱讀這本書。作者是一位真正的愛國者——作為產業與國家的嚴厲批評者，他深切期望兩方都能變得更好。」——前美國國防部長詹姆士‧馬提斯（James N. Mattis）
 

        From one of tech’s boldest thinkers and his longtime deputy and advisor, a sweeping indictment of Silicon Valley, showing how the West has slid into a culture of complacency, even as we enter a new era of mounting global threats.

        Silicon Valley has lost its way. From the founding of the American republic through much of the twentieth century, our most brilliant engineering minds 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.

        The focus of tech companies drifted to consumers, as they constructed elaborate online advertising and social media platforms. The market rewarded this shallow engagement with the potential of technology. The result? An entire generation of talented engineers and founders built photo-sharing apps and marketing algorithms, often unwittingly becoming vessels for the ambitions of others and depriving themselves of the opportunity to form independent beliefs about the world.

        In this groundbreaking and provocative treatise, Alexander C. Karp, co-founder and chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies, and Nicholas W. Zamiska, head of corporate affairs at the company, offer a searing critique of our collective abandonment of creative and cultural ambition. They argue that in order for the West to maintain its geopolitical advantage—and the freedoms that 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.

        It will be the union of the state and the software industry—not their separation and disentanglement—that will be required for the United States and its allies to remain as dominant in this century as they were in the last. Achieving this will entail preserving space for ideological confrontation, a rejection of intellectual fragility, and leaders in Silicon Valley, universities, and government unafraid to articulate their beliefs about the world. A democratic public’s commitment to free speech, Karp and Zamiska argue, has everything to do with technological and economic outperformance.

        At once iconoclastic and rigorous, the 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.

Alexander C. Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies. He earned his doctorate in social theory from Goethe University in Germany and is a graduate of Haverford College and Stanford Law School.

Nicholas W. Zamiska is head of corporate affairs and legal counsel to the office of the chief executive officer at Palantir Technologies. He is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.