Peace through war: shadowy AI firm opens new drone factory in Plymouth

It’s no secret that Britain is being rapidly militarised under Keir Starmer. The Labour PM has made so-called military Keynesianism his main gimmick for growth. This essentially means public money will be poured into the pockets of arms firms in the—arguably rather vague—hope it will improve the economy.

You can find a good critical commentary on this idea here as well as here, where the method is pithily explained as a process that diverts resources:

away from social provision while building up a military-industrial complex with a vested interest in aggressive wars that never cease.

What this also means is that dozens of the most morally dubious firms on the planet are rubbing their palms together at the idea of a quick buck. The government announced a £5bn investment plan in June. Arms firms want their share.

Enter Helsing. Not the vampire hunter, but the AI arms firm which just opened a new factory in Plymouth. They’ll be making unmanned submersible ‘gliders’. Powered by AI, the SG-1 Fathom will “deliver persistent underwater surveillance, detecting enemy activity to protect our sea lanes and undersea critical national infrastructure”.

Or so the firm claims.

A new kid on the arms trade block, Helsing AI has an unusual background. As Drone Wars told the Canary in early November:

Helsing is a new AI-focused military corporation, funded by Spotify’s Daniel Ek, and keen to gain a slice of the UK government’s promised £5 billion spending on drones, AI and other emerging technology.

Sounds dodgy? Not if you’re a senior British minister…

Helsing AI—Peace through war

Defence secretary John Healey told the BBC:

As we look to defend ourselves, seas and protect our cables, the uncrewed submarines or underwater gliders have the potential for playing a big part in the future,

It allows us to extend the range of how we can detect, how we can deter and if necessary, deal with any aggression that we face.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is a fan too:

Helsing’s investment in Plymouth shows confidence in Britain’s world-class engineering, talent and leadership in defence technology. By investing in advanced manufacturing and research in the South West, Helsing is creating high-skilled jobs, strengthening our national security, and driving growth in communities that have long been at the heart of our maritime story.

Our maritime story? Funny way to say “slave trade.”

The German firm’s senior managers are a collection of ex-military and ex-government officials, many of whom repeat the same line: they are working for an arms firm to protect liberal democracy.

‘Democracy through war’ is also part of the overarching brand:

Protecting open, democratic societies is our civic duty and collective responsibility. Increasingly, this requires the development of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence to deter and defend.

The Palantir connection

Yet a number of the staff, if you care to read, also have past associations with the global tech firm Palantir — as well as BAE and Airbus.

Palantir’s apocalyptic founder is Peter Thiel. Thiel, a close Trump ally and — like Elon Musk — a product of Apartheid South Africa, is not exactly a committed democrat himself. In fact, as Le Monde has it:

He has long expressed a visceral distaste for multiculturalism and progressive politics, and a deep skepticism toward democracy.

Go figure.

Whatever the new arms bonanza provides to the UK, it isn’t going to be democracy. That’s the case whether arms firm bosses make it part of their corporate brand, or not. Whether it’s handing off public money to the private sector, or making warfighting synonymous with freedom, whatever this is… it isn’t a credible approach to economics or democratic values.

Featured image via Naval News