Palmer Luckey: Every nation needs a 'warrior class' willing to undertake 'violence against others in pursuit of just goals.'
Palmer Luckey expressed his discontent towards the enemies of the United States, supported the use of fully autonomous weapons, and suggested the possibility of an initial public offering for Anduril.
In a recent event at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril, made an appearance following a brief promotional video showcasing striking images of drones and military vehicles. During a one-hour conversation with the university's president, Jim Gash, Luckey did not hold back in criticizing the adversaries of the United States, defended the development of fully autonomous weapons, and suggested that Anduril might have plans to go public.
Luckey, who co-founded Anduril in 2017 alongside Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm, Joe Chen, and Brian Schimpf, with a valuation of $14 billion, argued for the need for a class of warriors who are motivated to exercise violence for a greater good. Dressed in his usual Hawaiian shirt and sporting a mullet, he shared details about the conflict in Ukraine, noting that Anduril could have had a significant impact on the war. He recalled his first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019, who showed interest in Anduril's border control technology, although Luckey lamented that the U.S. State Department did not support that collaboration at the time.
Luckey revealed that Anduril began supplying weapons to Ukraine around the second week of the war. He also expressed support for unrestricted development of artificial intelligence, indicating that many of the United States' adversaries are campaigning at the United Nations to discourage advancements in this field. He criticized positions opposing autonomous weapons, questioning the ethics of a landmine incapable of distinguishing between a school bus and a Russian tank.
The creation of fully autonomous weapons is a controversial topic, and while Luckey supports their development, his co-founder Stephens has stated that he would prefer to maintain human judgment in these types of decisions. Luckey ended the conversation by hinting at Anduril's intention to go public, arguing that to win significant contracts, such as the trillion-dollar bomber contract, it is necessary to be a publicly traded company.
At the conclusion of the event, Gash attempted to gift him a collection of "The Lord of the Rings," from which the name "Anduril" is derived, but Luckey politely declined the gift, citing that he could not carry it on his motorcycle.
