Alice Weidel, co-chair of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said artificial intelligence would eliminate the need for mass immigration, citing remarks by Palantir CEO Alex Karp made at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“The head of the software company Palantir sees no further need for mass immigration due to the use of AI,” Weidel wrote on social media. “We in Germany must seize the opportunities of rapid technological development. Mass immigration is a concept of yesterday!”
Der Chef der Softwarefirma Palantir sieht durch den Einsatz von KI keine Notwendigkeit mehr für Masseneinwanderung. Wir müssen in Deutschland die Chancen der rasanten technischen Entwicklung nutzen. Masseneinwanderung ist ein Konzept von gestern! https://t.co/J1kARrb07M
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) January 23, 2026
Karp, co-founder and chief executive of the U.S. data analytics company, argued in Davos that artificial intelligence would reduce labor shortages in Western economies and create enough jobs for domestic workers, particularly in skilled and vocational fields.
“There will be more than enough open jobs for citizens of a country — especially for people with vocational training,” Karp said. “These trends make it difficult to imagine why we should have immigration on a large scale,” adding that exceptions would remain for highly specialized skills.
The Palantir executive rejected claims that artificial intelligence would trigger mass unemployment, saying the macroeconomic effects would be manageable even as office jobs come under pressure.
Palantir, which develops software used by governments, militaries and intelligence services, has benefited from the surge in demand for AI-driven security and defense technology. The company is valued at more than $400 billion and has been criticized by civil liberties groups for profiting from geopolitical conflict and tougher security and migration policies.
Karp has defended Palantir’s role as strengthening Western technological and strategic capabilities.
He has also repeatedly criticized Europe’s technological performance, telling Germany’s Handelsblatt in December that “no one talks about Germany anymore” and calling the country’s tech sector “one of the worst in the world.”
Weidel, who has led AfD’s parliamentary group in the Bundestag since 2017 and serves as party co-chair alongside Tino Chrupalla, has made opposition to immigration a central theme of her political platform.
Germany has taken in millions of migrants over the past decade, including large numbers of refugees from Syria and Ukraine, a policy that has fueled support for the AfD in recent elections.
Karp’s remarks came during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he said artificial intelligence could reshape labor markets by automating administrative work while increasing demand for technical and industrial roles.
“There are going to be more than enough jobs for the citizens of your nation,” he said, arguing that vocational training would become more valuable than traditional white-collar credentials.
AfD officials did not respond to questions about whether the party plans to incorporate Karp’s comments into its formal policy proposals.
