Palantir boss says AI will make immigration unnecessary

The head of US technology company Palantir said artificial intelligence will make large-scale immigration unnecessary to support the economies and labour markets of Western industrialized nations.

"There will be more than enough jobs for the citizens of your nation, especially those with vocational training," Palantir chief executive Alex Karp said on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"I do think these trends really do make it hard to imagine why we should have large scale immigration unless you have a very specialized skill."

"I think one of the unfortunate things of the narrative in the West is it will destroy humanity's jobs," Karp complained.

Experts expect that AI software will increasingly take over tasks, especially those performed by office workers. Some companies, such as Amazon, have already initiated large-scale job cuts with this in mind.

Palantir develops software that can be used to analyse and improve business processes.

The company's technology is also used by the military and security agencies to link and analyse information from multiple sources, a capability used in investigations and intelligence operations.

Palantir's technology has drawn criticism from data privacy advocates due to its surveillance capabilities.

Critics have expressed concern that Palantir could pass police data to US intelligence agencies. Criticism has also been levelled at the political preferences of Palantir founder Peter Thiel, who is a prominent supporter of US President Donald Trump.