Power, Pixels, and Providence: A Christian Response to AI in the Age of Palantir

The recent DealBook interview with Palantir CEO Alex Karp offers Christians a window into how the world's most powerful technology leaders think about artificial intelligence, national security, and human values. As believers called to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16), we must thoughtfully engage with these developments—without falling into the traps of either nationalism or naivety.

A Necessary Distinction: Faith, Not Nationalism

Before proceeding, we must be clear: the perspective offered here is not Christian nationalism. We reject any ideology that conflates the kingdom of God with any earthly nation, political party, or military power. Jesus told Pilate plainly, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight" (John 18:36).

Our allegiance is to the Lamb, not to any flag. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). This frees us to love our neighbors across every border—and to speak truthfully when any nation, including our own or its allies, acts unjustly.

The Promise: AI as a Tool for Protection and Justice

Karp makes a case that AI can serve protective purposes—helping soldiers return home safely, enabling more precise operations, and assisting law enforcement. Scripture does affirm a legitimate role for governing authorities in restraining evil: "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong" (Romans 13:3).

Christians can affirm that technology used to protect the innocent, rescue the vulnerable, and pursue justice aligns with God's heart. AI systems that help locate missing children, identify human trafficking networks, or defend against genuine threats can be instruments of common grace.

The Peril: When "Precision" Still Kills the Innocent

Yet this is where we must speak with prophetic clarity.

Karp proudly notes that Palantir works with the IDF and Mossad. He took out a full-page ad declaring "Palantir stands with Israel" after October 7th. When pressed about Israel's conduct in Gaza, he deflects—citing "derangement syndrome" among critics and suggesting that in a less hostile climate, he might offer more critique "in private."

Private critique is not enough when children are buried under rubble.

As Christians, we grieve the October 7th attacks and the loss of innocent Israeli lives. We also grieve—with equal weight—the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza, the destruction of hospitals, churches, and mosques, and the displacement of over a million people.

The prophet Amos thundered against nations that "ripped open pregnant women" in warfare (Amos 1:13). Ezekiel condemned leaders who "shed blood" and oppressed the foreigner (Ezekiel 22:29). Jesus wept over Jerusalem's coming destruction—not with triumphalism, but with lament (Luke 19:41-44).

We are not anti-semitic. As Gentile believers, we are "grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree" (Romans 11:17). We honor the Jewish faith and people as the root that bears us. But honoring our spiritual heritage does not require endorsing every action of a modern nation-state. Love for Jewish people and critique of the Israeli government's military conduct are not contradictions—they are both expressions of our commitment to human dignity and biblical justice.

AI that enables the destruction of civilian neighborhoods is not neutral technology. It is complicit.

The Violence Philosophy: Might Makes Right?

Karp approvingly cites Samuel Huntington's claim that Western civilization succeeded not through "the superiority of its ideas or values or religion" but through "superiority in applying organized violence."

This is where Christians must firmly part ways. Our faith teaches that lasting transformation comes not through coercion but through the compelling power of truth and sacrificial love. Jesus explicitly rejected domination: "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them... But you are not to be like that" (Luke 22:25-26).

When Karp declares that whoever wins the AI race will impose their "norms, laws, and spirit of laws" on the world, we hear echoes of Babel—humanity united in technological ambition apart from God (Genesis 11:4). The Christian vision is not "our values imposed by superior firepower." It is the slow, patient work of the Spirit transforming hearts—one person, one community at a time.

Surveillance, Dignity, and the Imago Dei

Karp addresses concerns about Palantir's surveillance capabilities, insisting they don't build databases for mass surveillance and that their systems create accountability. Perhaps. But the larger question remains: What happens to human dignity in a world of algorithmic visibility?

Scripture teaches that humans bear God's image (Genesis 1:27)—possessing inherent worth that doesn't depend on productivity, legal status, or usefulness to the state. The immigrant detained by ICE using Palantir's systems is an image-bearer. The Palestinian tagged in a database is an image-bearer. The protester tracked by law enforcement is an image-bearer.

"You have searched me, LORD, and you know me" (Psalm 139:1). God's omniscience is coupled with perfect love and mercy. Human surveillance systems lack both.

Christians should advocate for AI governance that:

• Protects the genuinely vulnerable from real threats
• Preserves space for privacy, conscience, and dissent
• Includes accountability for those wielding these tools
• Recognizes that efficiency is never the highest value
• Refuses to dehumanize any population—immigrant, refugee, or "enemy"

The Self-Reliance Trap

Perhaps the most revealing moment comes when Karp reflects: "I do believe that... you are largely on your own. And the more you recognize that, the better we will be as a society."

This radical individualism contradicts the Christian vision entirely. We are not meant to be on our own. We are created for community, designed for mutual dependence: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).

The early church shared everything in common (Acts 2:44-45). The body of Christ functions only when each part cares for the others (1 Corinthians 12:25-26). The "self-made man" is a myth—and a dangerous one when wedded to immense technological power.

A Different Kind of Power

Karp is right that ideas need embodiment to spread. The Word did become flesh (John 1:14). But the power that changes the world is not algorithmic superiority or precision-guided munitions. It is the power of the cross—weakness that overcomes, love that absorbs violence rather than inflicting it.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

As AI reshapes our world, Christians are called to:

• Use technology wisely for genuine human flourishing, not domination or control
• Advocate for all victims—Israeli and Palestinian, citizen and immigrant, soldier and civilian
• Resist nationalism that wraps the cross in any nation's flag
• Maintain human connection and community over technological isolation
• Remember that God's kingdom advances not through superior algorithms, but through sacrificial love

The question is not whether AI will reshape our world—it already has. The question is whether the church will respond with the courage of the prophets, the compassion of Christ, and the wisdom of the Spirit. We must be neither Luddites nor cheerleaders, but faithful witnesses to a kingdom that cannot be coded, compiled, or deployed—only received.

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Sources & References

• CNBC — DealBook Summit 2025: Palantir CEO Alex Karp
• International Committee of the Red Cross — Autonomous Weapons
• Vatican — "Antiqua et Nova: AI and Human Intelligence"
• Brookings — Pope Francis on AI, Humanity, and the Future of Work

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world." — Ephesians 6:12