In February 2025, Vice President Vance delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference that shocked and appalled much of the European audience. The speech was met with strong criticism—labeled as “stunning,” “insensitive,” and even a “violent attack” on European democracies. However, many critics avoided engaging with the deeper questions at the heart of his address: What is the purpose of the West? What does it stand for? What democratic values do we share, and which are worth defending?
This fundamental question of purpose is also central to Alex Karp and Nicholas Zamiska’s new book, The Technological Republic. The book urges founders, engineers, and citizens alike to ask: What is the purpose behind the technology we are creating? The authors argue that the question is not whether a new generation of increasingly autonomous, AI-driven weapons will be built, but rather, who will build them and for what purpose.
While The Technological Republic explores the often-frightening power of technology, it ultimately places humans at its center. Karp and Zamiska argue that individuals have choices in how technology is developed and used—choices that necessitate serious reflection on the values that underpin the West and a commitment to defending them. The authors offer a sense of hope that humanity still matters and can correct past mistakes, particularly those stemming from Silicon Valley’s prioritization of commercial interests at the expense of the common good.
The authors are particularly critical of programmers who created technologies “untethered from a more fundamental purpose.” This, they argue, led to the “hollowing out” of the American mind. By allowing market forces to dictate priorities, Silicon Valley avoided addressing the most pressing societal problems, leaving Americans “vulnerable and exposed.”
The Historical Link Between Purpose and Technology
Karp and Zamiska remind us that it was not always this way. They explore earlier periods in American history when technology was deeply connected to national purpose. During the early Cold War era—marked by NASA’s space race and the Sputnik crisis—science and engineering were tied to a larger mission: the defense of democracy and the advancement of the American project. Scientists and engineers were at the heart of national life, contributing to the broader effort to uphold democratic ideals.
The authors believe that technologists can revive this spirit by keeping purpose in mind. Purpose compels choices—”to speak, to prefer”—which, in turn, are essential steps in mobilizing resources toward meaningful goals. They explore this idea across several dimensions.
Purpose, Judgment, and National Identity
On one level, purpose forces judgment, which can be a positive force. In their chapter on adopting an aesthetic point of view, the authors argue that it is acceptable—even necessary—to make claims about truth and beauty. It is ok to argue that something is ugly. They caution against a “thin version of collective identity” that lacks the ability to provide meaningful direction in human experience. Companies that make decisive choices, they argue, tend to outperform those ruled by indecision and committees. Software development, they observe, is as much an art as it is a science.
Particularly compelling is the book’s discussion of the link between purpose, choice, and national identity. Karp and Zamiska make an unabashed argument that the nation-state remains the highest level at which civic affiliations can still be meaningfully fulfilled. Beyond that scale, cohesion becomes difficult. The authors contend that the nation-state provides a sense of unity and shared narrative, sustaining individuals in ways that larger, more abstract political entities cannot. They reference British anthropologist Robin Dunbar’s assertion that meaningful human connections are limited to around 150 people, emphasizing that national projects must be structured in ways that allow for genuine communal bonds.
This argument echoes the themes of Vice President Vance’s speech, which suggested that the European project of unification has, in some cases, eroded the foundational values of identify and nationality that once defined Europe.
The Role of Purpose in Shaping Technology
By identifying a clear purpose behind the technologies we develop, engineers can become forces for good, contributing to the creation of an “affirmative vision for what we want.” However, the discussion of purpose is not just for technologists—it is also empowering for the average person.
For those who, like me, do not code and do not fully grasp the inner workings of the complex algorithms shaping AI, The Technological Republic offers hope. It suggests that we are not powerless in the face of technological change. Karp and Zamiska acknowledge the dangers posed by AI, including the potential threat it poses to liberal values and the fear that advanced AI may one day supersede humanity. However, they believe that humans still have choices.
By shaping technology in ways that uphold liberty and freedom, we can resist the Orwellian nightmare of “impersonality together with a sense of powerlessness.”1 The Technological Republic outlines a path forward: If we believe in human agency and make deliberate choices based on democratic principles, we can ensure that technology serves the right purposes. I hope that they are right.