AI ‘will destroy' humanities jobs, Palantir CEO warns

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has a stark warning for humanities graduates.

He warned that artificial intelligence (AI) will certainly take those jobs.

While talking to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Karp warned that AI will “destroy humanity's jobs.”

The cofounder of Palantir, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, admitted that his background in liberal arts had made getting his first job tough.

"You've been to a prestigious university, you've taken philosophy—I'm talking about myself here—hopefully, you have another ability because the latter is not easy to sell," Karp said.

Karp further elaborated on his projections in a March interview, where he identified two types of people who will definitely have their futures secured.

"There are basically two things to know whether you have a future," Karp said. "Either you have vocational skills, or you are neurodivergent." Karp credits his own dyslexia for the success of Palantir.

He also forecasted massive disruption in politics and gender divides, stating that the use of AI technology would undermine economic influence for "humanities-trained, largely Democratic voters" and increase it for "vocationally trained, working-class, male voters."

However, not all CEOs agree. The COO of BlackRock, Robert Goldstein, told Fortune Magazine that his company hires college graduates who majored in subjects "unrelated to finance or technology."

Bob Sternfels, the global managing partner of McKinsey, said that his firm was "focused on recruiting liberal arts majors" for their creativity.

However, Karp holds his ground. Palantir introduced the Meritocracy Fellowship program for high school students to critique American colleges for indoctrinating students. "There will be more than enough jobs for the citizens of your nation, especially those with vocational training," said Karp.