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Palantir CEO says AI will reshape workforce and only 2 types of people will thrive
Palantir's Alex Karp said only two types of people will find success in the era of AI — those in vocational training and those who are neurodivergent.
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The AI revolution has transformed the way people work, communicate and access information — but it has also sparked growing fears of job displacement and unemployment. At a time when entry-level jobs are increasingly at risk and many major companies have attributed layoffs to AI, Palantir CEO Alex Karp has some thoughts on who will survive and succeed in the era of artificial intelligence.
Speaking on the TBPN podcast earlier this month, the 58-year-old billionaire claimed that only two groups of people will succeed in the coming years.
“There are basically two ways to know you have a future,” Alex Karp said on TBPN earlier this month. “One, you have some vocational training. Or two, you’re neurodivergent.”
The 2 types of people
Karp’s first group refers to people in skilled trades, like carpenters, electricians and plumbers. Experts believe that there is a growing demand for people in these trades, thanks to data centres cropping up around the world.
Earlier, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink had made a similar prediction about the need for skilled traders due to growing AI infrastructure like data centres. “[AI] is going to create many jobs and we’re not prepared as a society to fulfill those jobs,” Fink said. “And to me, this is a crisis.”
(Also read: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warns of AI-driven unemployment: ‘This is a crisis’)
Palantir CEO’s second category hit a more personal note when he referred to “neurodivergent” people. Karp has long spoken about his struggles with dyslexia. In the era of AI, being neurodivergent can be a benefit, he argued, saying that they look at the world differently.
Success, he said, will come to people who can “Be more of an artist, look at things from a different direction, be able to build something unique.”
According to IBT, Palantir has created a Neurodivergent Fellowship paying between $110,000 and $200,000 a year. The company's job posting said that “neurodivergent individuals will play a disproportionate role in shaping the future of America and the West.”
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