Defense contractor Palantir CEO Alex Karp has issued a manifesto, calling for the institution of universal national service, per Newsweek’s US Draft Update: Major Tech Company Urges Universal National Service and The Independent’s Surveillance tech giant Palantir posts manifesto on X dealing with national service, post-World War II attitudes and diversity. On X, the CEO wrote, “National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost.”
The comment comes at the time when the country is transitioning from a reliance on Selective Service self-registration to automatic registration by the federal government. According to the Selective Service System article on Wikipedia,
Until December 18, 2026, all male (as assigned at birth) U.S. citizens between 18 and 25 (inclusive) years of age are required to register within 30 days of their 18th birthdays. In addition, certain categories of non-U.S. citizen men between 18 and 25 living in the United States must register, particularly permanent residents, refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented immigrants.
The federal government will start auto-enrolling men December 19, 2026.
Learn more about Selective Service.