The Head of Palantir UK Louis Mosley has warned that artificial intelligence could become the world’s most powerful censorship tool.

In an address delivered at this week’s Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference, Mosley cautioned that AI risks turning into the ultimate arbiter of truth. “AI, in the wrong hands, could become the most powerful tool of censorship, tyranny and dehumanisation,” he said. “Already, we have seen how AI can be aligned for political correctness, whether it goes by the acronym CCP or DEI,” he cautioned, pointing to real-world instances where AI has been manipulated to align with ideological biases.

This development, he cautioned, is particularly dangerous in democratic societies where freedom of speech and open debate are foundational. AI, wielded improperly, could replace genuine discourse with curated, politically aligned “truths”, leading to an era of digital authoritarianism. Echoing the theories of Eric Weinstein, who coined the term “Distributed Idea Suppression Complex” (Disc), the Palantir chief described modern censorship as decentralised, yet ruthlessly effective. Rather than a single authority enforcing restrictions, today’s censorship operates through a network of fact-checkers, NGOs, media organisations, and academic institutions. “There used to be one Star Chamber. Now there are as many as the stars in the sky,” he observed.

Mosley argued that this model is more dangerous than classical authoritarian censorship. Those who challenge sanctioned narratives on issues such as Covid-19 origins or migration policies are not just silenced, but discredited, deplatformed, and — in extreme cases — rendered “unpersons”. “Those who run afoul of the Disc are heaped with opprobrium, denounced as dangerous or backward, their employment and reputation threatened,” he said.

The Palantir executive warned that AI could supercharge this process, making censorship nearly impossible to detect. “The Disc’s ability to bully and dictate terms is fading,” he said, “but as it collapses, we must be vigilant against new forms of censorship and resist the ever-present temptation to do unto them what they have done unto us.”

Mosley argued that, with the internet dismantling old power structures, traditional media and state-backed narratives have struggled to maintain control. As a result, the “tech that empowered the Disc also empowers the rebels,” he noted. Citing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Mosley claimed that AI-led censorship could be fought against: “If DOGE has its way, the censors’ funding and political power will fade — in the US at least”.

The Palantir executive’s address comes just days after his colleague Alex Karp issued a similar warning to Left-wing and centrist parties across the West. Singling out the Democrats, Karp claimed that the party is “committing suicide” over its refusal to engage with “real-world concerns”. “It’s because we’re not allowed to admit the truth. We literally have to say that anything ever uttered by the opposition must be wrong, including fundamental things like national security and border control. This self-imposed blindness is leading to collapse.”

Despite these warnings, Mosley expressed optimism that technology could also be harnessed for liberation. Just as the printing press once empowered the masses against entrenched elites, new AI models could be developed to protect free speech, ensure transparency, and prevent the monopolisation of information. He urged policymakers, technologists, and citizens to remain vigilant against the creeping tide of digital suppression.

“History tells us that one path could lead to anarchy, chaos, and violence,” he warned. “Persevere, and we may yet reach that paradise described by Milton centuries ago: ‘When complaints are freely heard, deeply considered and speedily reformed, then is the utmost bound of civil liberty attained.’”

Mosley added: “The door to that future is now open if we choose to enter.”