PLTR CEO Alex Karp Calls For AI Accountability — ‘First Line Of Defense Is You’re Liable For Your Own Actions’

• Karp said Palantir’s customers worry that AI models will use their business data and ideas and benefit competitors.
• He said open models and other AI tools can give businesses more control over their data and technology.
• His comments come as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and other tech leaders call for stronger AI safeguards.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) co-founder and CEO Alex Karp called for “reasonable guidelines” around artificial intelligence and added that AI developers should face liability for the consequences of their technology. He also said frontier AI labs may ultimately need to be nationalized.

Karp told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Thursday that businesses are increasingly concerned about their proprietary data and intellectual property being absorbed by closed AI models, linking those concerns to the growing push for AI sovereignty.

At the time of writing on Thursday afternoon, PLTR stock was trading 0.81% higher.

Karp Calls For AI Guidelines

“You have to find a way to set reasonable guidelines that are enforced, but you can’t do it,” Karp said, adding, “The first line of defense is you’re liable for your own actions.”

Karp also argued for civil and criminal liability for those building technology that could upend the world.

He said the current debate is being framed too narrowly as a question of safety versus regulation, while other issues involving liability, data and intellectual property are also central to the discussion.

Concerns Over Data And IP

Karp said Palantir and its customers have extensive experience with AI, including its use in military applications, and that clients are particularly concerned about what he described as the theft of their “alpha” — their ideas about how to run a business and their data.

He added that companies using closed AI models and paying for tokens could effectively give model providers access to their intellectual property. According to Karp, discounted token pricing isn't just meant to grow the market; it can also let model providers access customer IP and improve their models.

Karp linked those concerns to what he called the “sovereignty revolution,” which he said Palantir helped launch with Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) founder and CEO Jensen Huang. He added that companies using open models, combined with an application layer and post-training, can retain greater control over their technology and future.

Why Karp Says AI Labs Could Be Nationalized

Karp said the debate over AI regulation ultimately comes down to liability and safety. He stated that if AI companies seek to use business IP while avoiding potentially significant liability, the U.S. government is the only institution capable of providing the necessary protection.

“These businesses have to be nationalized because if you don’t nationalize it, every single one of my clients is going to sue,” Karp said.

AI Safety Debate Intensifies

Karp’s comments come as technology and policy leaders debate how to regulate increasingly sophisticated AI models following warnings about the technology’s potential risks.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in frontier AI development, according to CBS News. Karp said he has “a lot of respect” for Amodei, describing him as both an ethical entrepreneur and a businessperson.

Other technology leaders have also weighed in on AI safety and regulation. Nvidia’s Huang and Meta Platforms (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg have joined the discussion, with Zuckerberg saying in a post on X, “Any lab that doesn't focus on alignment will fall behind.”

OpenAI also disclosed six new cases of unexpected or concerning model behavior within the last six months, while a breach involving Hugging Face has added to debate over broader AI safety precautions.

“We need to get serious,” Karp told CNBC.

PLTR Stock: Stocktwits Retail Sentiment

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for PLTR remained ‘neutral,’ while message volume was ‘normal’ at the time of writing.

PLTR stock has lost around 6% year-to-date. 

Also See: NVDA Stock Gains 2% — Jensen Huang Expects Chip Sales To Double Next Year

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.