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Why is America struggling to keep pace with China? Can Silicon Valley help rebuild US military power? And what happens when artificial intelligence transforms warfare? Anduril founder and CEO Palmer Luckey joins Peter Robinson to argue that America must rethink everything from defense procurement to manufacturing, innovation, and national identity itself. Luckey explains why he founded Anduril Industries after selling Oculus to Facebook, why he believes the US has become dangerously dependent on China, and how autonomous weapons, AI fighter jets, and drone warfare are reshaping the future battlefield. Luckey also takes aim at Pentagon bureaucracy, Silicon Valley globalism, America’s hollowed-out industrial base, and what he calls the “national divorce” between tech and national security. It’s a provocative discussion about patriotism, innovation, deterrence, and whether the United States still has what it takes to defend itself in a rapidly changing world.
Recorded on May 7th, 2026
Discussion (4)
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AI is gaining ownership over so many businesses and complex governmental functions at a rapid pace.
The safety measures that need to be implemented so that AI will not "escape", that is, resist the very instructions that point the AI to the goal that is desired by us humans -- those safety measures' installations can't keep up with this growth.
Anduril of course is involved in a 22 billion dollar partnership with Zuckerberg's Meta that will put AI into all military systems.
This AI is of the very family of AI that has been caught avoiding safety measures in order to go rogue.
This "escape" inclination is discussed in full here:
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Whatever the merits (or not) of his ideas, listening to Palmer Luckey and his ilk makes my skin crawl. That whole smug, fast-talking tech bro affect is so off-putting. I made it to the end, but barely.
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You are a better person than I am. I couldn't make it past the first twelve minutes.
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Ah Charlotte and CarolJoy I guess I have a higher tolerance for tech bros. I had never heard of Lucky Palmer (or is it Palmer Lucky?) before. It's interesting hearing what these guys are thinking about and working on. They're definitely shaping the world (whether we like it or not) so I want to get to know them. Ok it's Palmer Lucky I see.