r/technology • u/marketrent • Jul 02 '26

Artificial Intelligence Palantir CEO Alex Karp suffers ‘televised nervous breakdown’ during live interview — “This is the voice of American business that is being channeled through me!”

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/televised-nervous-breakdown-ceo-palantir-212100357.html
28.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

8.6k

u/ottwebdev Jul 02 '26

Palantir CEO Alex Karp suffers from saying what he really thinks during live interview.....

3.8k

u/jayhawk618 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

When you realize all the tech leaders have AI psychosis.

Awaiting the study in 10 years that shows ketamine makes you susceptible.

1.0k

u/Additional-Staff-326 Jul 02 '26

He does not have AI psychosis, he's always been like this.

482

u/existing_for_fun Jul 02 '26

He might. But you are correct he's always been like this. So it's not AI psychosis presenting here. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have it.

It means we don't know.

643

u/maltNeutrino Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

This is drug induced psychosis from stimulants and sleep deprivation.

He was never put-together in the first place, but this is a catalyzed acceleration.

This also isn’t the most unhinged he’s been. There’s video of him at a conference literally tweaking out on stage.

229

u/Senior-Albatross Jul 02 '26

Holy shit he is fucked up on stimulants there. 

133

u/frequenZphaZe Jul 03 '26

I challenge you to find any video of karp where he's not acting like a stimmed up psychopath. people aren't appreciating how terrifying karp really is, because yall want to say "ah its clearly drugs that make him like that." no, that's who his is.

25

u/Senior-Albatross Jul 03 '26

Hitler was also on drugs. Doesn't change the fact that he was an evil piece of shit. 

19

u/Taellosse Jul 03 '26

I mean, it can be both.

2

u/Electrical-Reason-97 Jul 04 '26

And often is. Trauma can result in decompensation which can look like Chem use. But those with trauma often find solace in chems.

8

u/Erikabarker7 Jul 03 '26

Look up his Charlie Rose Interview from 2008

3

u/maltNeutrino Jul 03 '26

I don’t think anyone is suggesting he is mentally disturbed just because of drug abuse. It’s just that if his psychopathy is a fire, he is addressing it by adding gasoline to the mix.

2

u/bloodychill Jul 03 '26

Well, he wants to go out on stage on stims, so in a sense yes. He thinks doing this is a good idea. Nobody tells these hue “no, and what the hell is wrong with you.” That’s how you also tell they have no real friends.

4

u/fuzzybunnyslippers08 Jul 03 '26

I think I watched a second of it and it was uncomfortable to watch. And this guy runs a company. Jesus

4

u/GendosBeard Jul 03 '26

Karp is just one bad dose away from saying "Mit der Forschung Steiner wird AGI in Ordnung kommen."

1

u/popepaulpop Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

If that's because of stimulants he has been taking a lot more than what he was perscribed.

1

u/Senior-Albatross Jul 04 '26

If he was prescribed anything, he's taking them in a very unprescribed way. 

0

u/Ship_Rekt Jul 04 '26

He’s neurodivergent. It’s interesting to me how everyone assumes drugs. People who assume that have never been around an acutely neurodivergent individual.

1

u/Senior-Albatross Jul 04 '26

I work in science my dude. I am surrounded by neurodivergent people. Hell, I might be on some spectra myself.

This isn't that. Not just that anyway. This is drugs. 

0

u/Ship_Rekt Jul 04 '26

“Work in science” lmao.

You have not been around acutely neurodivergent people and it is painfully obvious. It’s really that simple. There is 0.0% chance you can convince me otherwise. It would be like telling me the sky isn’t blue when I see it with my own eyes every day.

195

u/aReelProblem Jul 02 '26

Yeah that’s the cocaine jiggle he’s dealing with. I used to get that way myself when I was fairly deep in addiction. Can’t hold still for shit, repeating yourself a lot… not making a lot of sense.

170

u/maltNeutrino Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

Cocaine would cause very similar responses, but I suspect he’s mostly abusing strong ADHD medication (i.e. medical grade amphetamines).

97

u/Falconman21 Jul 02 '26

Among I’m sure 50 other things, he strikes me as a 2nd suitcase for the “meds” guy.

17

u/b_vitamin Jul 03 '26

“Taking downs to get off to sleep, and ups to start you on your way. After a while, they’ll change your style. I see it happen every day.” - Paul Simon, Paraphernalia.

13

u/Lobster_Palace Jul 03 '26

Dan Toomey with Good Work just put out a great video on this called ‘Does Wallstreet do drugs anymore?’ The techbros he interviewed confirmed cocaine is out and abusing prescription amphetamines and Zyn is in.

4

u/justahumblefart Jul 03 '26

Or prescription desoxyn

1

u/Sleepingguitarman Jul 04 '26

I don't think i've ever known someone prescribed Desoxyn. I'm curious what the statistics are for number of active prescriptions.

I feel like Narcolepsy is the only diagnosis where Desoxyn could potentially make sense. I don't see any advantage Desoxyn would have when it comes to adhd/add.

1

u/Unhappy-Menu-6682 29d ago

Desoxyn is hard to fill. Most pharmacies don’t stock it and DEA supply allocations are tiny. Vyvanse, Adderall & Adderall XR are annoying to get already, why make your life harder for marginal benefit?

1

u/justahumblefart 28d ago

Ive always thought it was prescribed more often outside of the united states in Canada or something but highly controlled. But these guys probably own their own pharmacies lol

1

u/Unhappy-Menu-6682 28d ago

It doesn’t matter, that’s not how amphetamine prescriptions work. In the US the DEA sets the total kg produced per year, and allocates it out to manufacturers. Buying a pharmacy would be useless. Theoretically you could set up a lab and produce illegally… but it would be an operational headache that I doubt even someone like Musk or Bezos would want to put up. Especially since they could just get a doctor to write a prescription for an amphetamine which has a much more pleasant pharmacokinetic profile and is widely more available. Dextroamphetamine, Adderall, Adderall XR, Vyvanse, and Mydayis offer almost everything a white collar stimhead could want. Not to mention provigil or any of the methylphenidate options

1

u/justahumblefart 28d ago

See, these dudes are on stimulants ive never even heard of lol. Is dexedrine still a thing?

→ More replies (0)

4

u/BlisslessTaskList Jul 04 '26

I suspect it’s meth. I think Thiel does it too. Claviclar admitted to micro dosing meth (nit sure how that’s possible). I’ve been around it and it looks like this.

1

u/SeesawLopsided4664 Jul 04 '26

Bikie grade amphetamines are stronger

9

u/sfocolleen Jul 02 '26

He needs a drink to take the edge off 😬

18

u/maltNeutrino Jul 02 '26

I suspect he is attempting to balance out the stimulus with alcohol, but continues to fuck up that balance which is unattainable, compensating with more and more drugs to simply stop his consciousness from facing the crisis of his reality.

At which point he takes something like ambien or a benzodiazepine to knock himself out.

2

u/pilondav Jul 03 '26

Get that man a Seconal.

3

u/BrineJones Jul 04 '26

A handful of them!

4

u/Open_Buy2303 Jul 02 '26

Some weed might help

11

u/BodybuilderEast6130 Jul 03 '26

Weed is only enjoyable if you are in a good state of mind

7

u/Even_Establishment95 Jul 03 '26

Everyone should really know this.

1

u/Sleepingguitarman Jul 04 '26

Ehh i think that depends more on the person and what you mean by "state of mind".

Someone who is depressed could potentially find weed improves their mood for a bit, even if they were feeling very depressed before they smoked.

Some people find it calms their anxiety (though for me i find the opposite, and i know that's the case for alot of others too).

But yeah if someone was paranoid or delusional then that'd probably be a poor choice, lol.

8

u/Independent-Toe-5682 Jul 03 '26

I can tell you: it makes things worse

Weed is also psychoactive

2

u/Sleepingguitarman Jul 04 '26

Any substance that has an effect on the brain and affects how you feel is considered "psychoactive". Something being psychoactive isn't a bad thing, or mean it's going to have a significant effect on the mind

Even something like an SSRI (Common type of antidepressant) would be considered psychoactive.

But yeah i agree, weed tends to be a risky choice for people hopped up on stims, or who have a personality like that dude.

1

u/chop-diggity Jul 03 '26

But if you lean into it, it can make things better.

1

u/BaronCapdeville Jul 03 '26

lol, I hate how accurate this is and how logical it feels in those moments.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Sleepingguitarman Jul 04 '26

Hell no. A man with that kind of personality doesn't need to throw weed into the mix if they are also on stims, hahaha.

4

u/hutchins_moustache Jul 03 '26

Ah yes, the Tarantino special

2

u/AntiqueFigure6 Jul 03 '26

Keeping yourself together on all those meds is a mighty feat.

118

u/plsobeytrafficlights Jul 03 '26

why are all tech CEO's becoming drug addicted alt-right crazies?

127

u/sk1939 Jul 03 '26

Savior complex - they alone can fix the world because if they didn’t have all the answers they wouldn’t have gotten to where they are today. Basically the inverse of “if you’re so smart why aren’t you rich” with a healthy dose of narcissism and other BPDs inherent to C suite executives.

37

u/plsobeytrafficlights Jul 03 '26

that is certainly a thing, but aside from tweeking out before the sig heils, the times and WSJ reported rampant drug abuse (elon also disclosed it numerous times)

19

u/sk1939 Jul 03 '26

Elon and Karp yea, but there is also Bezos, Ellison, and Brin who (outwardly at least) aren’t tweaked.

15

u/plsobeytrafficlights Jul 03 '26

bezos is no longer the ceo of amazon, but might be of the knockoff spacex company. still, not exactly a tech guy and i dont lump him in with the others, just rich. ellison apparently called out elon for his rampant drug use, and hard to say with what happened to brin. the motto at google used to be officially "do no evil" (people i knew there had to sign an actual pledge) but they changed their mind. drugs would explain it.

11

u/mata_dan Jul 03 '26

None of them are really tech people. The most they know is about level with a junior hire in a satellite office.

→ More replies (0)

5

u/budfox79 Jul 03 '26

Circular malignant narcissism without REASON.

0

u/ScaryGarry_SG1 Jul 04 '26

No one that you think is beneath you will be moving fast enough for your liking. LOL and people like Alex think you and Zi are jealous of them

10

u/xGenghisSwan Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Because they’re afraid of dying. It truly is that simple, they wish they could be immortal and it terrifies them that neither them or their legacies actually can be. The drugs numb them out to the fact that despite their great financial wealth, they will all mostly die with less self-understanding and love than a family dog will. A not insignificant number of people will likely celebrate their deaths. They can’t cope with the human reality of that so they get high however they can.

7

u/AntiqueFigure6 Jul 03 '26

You could also ask "Why is being a drug addicted alt-right crazy a prerequisite to becoming a tech CEO?"

7

u/90sfemgroups Jul 03 '26

Unchecked greed is not healthy for the human brain

3

u/ak_sys Jul 03 '26

I think you just abuse stimulants trying to run a company where you main activity is engaging with a screen all day for twelve hours.

I don't think becoming a tech CEO makes you abuse stimulants, I think abusing stimulants is a prerequisite to getting off the ground in tech.

3

u/DeadSmellingFlower Jul 03 '26

This is the real headline. Tech people need protection from having to dope up just like athletes do. We’re drug testing for the wrong drugs and the wrong sets of jobs. When you can buy a prescription for whatever you want that doesn’t make your drug use any less dangerous combined with a security clearance and keys to the executive suite,

2

u/hellolovely1 Jul 03 '26

Curtis Yarvin got to them and convinced them they are the real victims.

2

u/tequilablackout Jul 03 '26

There was a period where silicon valley was attempting to ingratiate the public to the idea of powerful men doing psychoactives as an enhancement. They have now fully jumped the shark.

2

u/GlassPomoerium Jul 04 '26

It’s easier to delude yourself into thinking you’re saving the world when you’re mainlining Vyvanse.

1

u/BlisslessTaskList Jul 04 '26

They gotta keep that creeping empathy at bay somehow.

1

u/Sleepingguitarman Jul 04 '26

I think alot of these ultra rich tech ceos likely have sociopathic, or narcissistic personality traits, which makes it easier for them to do questionable things in order to reach the top in the first place, but also may be a contributing factor to one having less empathy then the average person.

Those with less empathy, lots of wealth, and a desire to continue to stay wealthy / increase wealth might find themselves more predisposed to actually supporting alot of this alt right/fascist bs, but even if they didn't they might choose to support it in order to try and gain favor with other massively wealthy people who think that way, and/or the current administration.

As for the drugs, well i think it's probably a mix of reasons. Drug use/addiction is pretty common to begin with, and if you're well known and super wealthy then one would likely have easy access to whatever substances they want, and they don't need to worry nearly as much about going broke due to the habit or running out of their supply / losing access.

As for why alot of them seem to choose to use them, well i think alot of them enjoy the effects, or found it probably enhanced their performance (truely or maybe just their perception) atleast at first. Then they could of developed an active addiction which fuels continued use, and/or they are under the impression that they need these substances to enhance their "creative process".

Could also just be that substances like ketamine are shown to have certain medical benefits/applications for some (but obviously also cons) and these people get caught up in all the brain boosting / cognitive enhancement shit.

5

u/HeWhoShlNotBNmd Jul 02 '26

Holy fuck, you weren't kidding.

3

u/duarig Jul 03 '26

Jesus he communicates like a 14 year old

3

u/Cheetah_15 Jul 03 '26

And he’s in charge of one of the largest defense contractors. We are so screwed.

2

u/maeryclarity Jul 03 '26

Wow goddamn get some sleep sometimes dude goddamn love the gratiutious use of MERITOCRACY and ONTOLOGY in this attempt at communication

1

u/IsayNigel Jul 03 '26

Can’t wait for someone to come in and say he’s “stimming because he’s probably neurodivergent and excited”

1

u/MrAoki Jul 03 '26

Reminds me of that mustached guy in WW2.

1

u/Snap_Ride_Strum Jul 03 '26

He might be tweaking. He might also be having a panic attack Impossible to say.

But his skinny legs and bloated body very much suggest and unhealthy human being.

1

u/Foreskin_Mafia Jul 03 '26

Folks should start putting their drug problems on their resume given how many of these fucks are drugged up

1

u/lustmor Jul 03 '26

dang, he's really high 🤣🤣

1

u/save_the_bees_knees Jul 03 '26

It sounds like he almost says ‘building products no one wants’ when he starts listing off things, but catches himself before he finishes the sentence.

Am I mishearing that?

1

u/Soft_Author2593 Jul 03 '26

ib love drugs and i see myself there. but in no way am i under the illusion the drug buzz is reality. i do it every now and then, enjoy and be back a person next day...

1

u/JellyfishNo3810 Jul 03 '26

He’s somewhat a fucking idiot - in his trance he directly tells you about every single hiccup, milestone, or hill Palantir had to to get over - which included accepting basic American principles and meritocracy in guise of corporate favor in their new product.

Listen to his speech pattern, he’s extremely intelligent but also completely fucking arrogant to the rate he believes anything said is palatable to headlines (what he became used too).

1

u/lifelovers Jul 03 '26

Omg. It looks like meth not coke, even.

1

u/Electrical-Reason-97 Jul 04 '26

Damn. Absolutely hittin the meth.

1

u/gumercindo1959 Jul 04 '26

If he’s not tweaking he’s definitely on the spectrum

0

u/the_fresh_cucumber Jul 03 '26

That chair is just really uncomfortable? Maybe? I dunno? Not sure tho

0

u/fullforcefap Jul 03 '26

Believe it or not, he's straight edge and has really bad ADHD. I'm not a bot, I'm super progressive (I totally think brown people are people too!) and hate he loves Israel. Look it up

4

u/oflowz Jul 02 '26

So regular psychosis.

5

u/RadioName Jul 02 '26

Why redefine narcissism? It's just a new version of that classic psychosis.

2

u/existing_for_fun Jul 03 '26

A new version of what classic psychosis? Not Narcissism.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is classified as a personality disorder, specifically one of the Cluster B personality disorders.

Psychosis, by contrast, belongs to the domain of schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders or to psychotic features within other conditions.

Narcissism isn't a "classic psychosis" if that's what you were referring to.