Peter Thiel Warns of “Antichrist System” Rising Through Global Tech and AI Surveillance
by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel has reignited theological and political debate after warning that modern technology–particularly artificial intelligence and global data systems–could provide the infrastructure for what the Bible calls the Antichrist.
In a resurfaced October 2024 interview with Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Thiel suggested that Revelation’s Antichrist may not be a singular figure but a powerful system offering peace through totalitarian control. “The slogan of the Antichrist is ‘peace and safety,'” Thiel said, referencing 1 Thessalonians 5:3. “You have to imagine that it resonates very differently in a world where the alternative is Armageddon and the destruction of all things.”
In "Part II: Apocalypse Now?," @UncKnowledge host @P_M_Robinson and @PeterThiel reflect on ancient prophecies, particularly the concept of the #Antichrist as outlined in biblical and literary sources. Drawing from thinkers such as Cardinal Newman and fiction by Vladimir Solovyov… pic.twitter.com/fiuroCw3e2
— Hoover Institution (@HooverInst) December 6, 2024
According to Thiel, the Antichrist system will not appear overtly evil. Still, it will likely present itself as hyper-Christian or morally superior, only to ultimately oppose true faith through centralized power. “In some ways, the Antichrist copies Christ… and then maybe only ultimately, deeply anti-Christian,” he said.
Thiel, who helped co-found PayPal and later the controversial data analytics firm Palantir, connected biblical prophecy to modern geopolitical shifts and the weaponization of fear. Citing early 20th-century portrayals of the Antichrist by writers like Soloviev and Benson, Thiel noted the “plot hole” in how such a figure gains control. His answer: existential threats and advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear weapons.
Palantir and the Machinery of Control
Thiel’s comments take on added weight considering Palantir’s central role in AI-driven surveillance. The company has grown into a government-embedded titan. From helping track terrorists in Iraq to developing predictive policing tools for U.S. cities, Palantir’s reach spans military, medical, and municipal sectors.
Its AI systems — Gotham and Foundry — are now used to detect threats, automate logistics, and analyze personal data on a massive scale. Civil rights groups say such tools disproportionately target minorities, strip privacy protections, and create a permanent “dragnet society.”
AI, the State, and a Prophetic Crisis
Critics argue that Thiel’s ventures contribute to laying the groundwork for the very global apparatus he warns about. Palantir’s Tiberius platform managed vaccine data during Operation Warp Speed, tracking populations and enabling real-time distribution analysis for COVID-19 injections. The company has since expanded into education, immigration, and welfare systems, triggering concerns about the creation of a pan-agency surveillance infrastructure.
The controversy intensified with President Donald Trump’s March executive order, mandating data sharing across federal agencies — an initiative for which Thiel was tapped to help implement. Some view the order as laying the foundation for a national surveillance state run through Palantir’s Foundry platform.
House Republicans embedded a controversial provision in the sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would block state and local governments from regulating artificial intelligence for a full decade. Supporters, including Speaker Mike Johnson, argue the measure is necessary to prevent a confusing “patchwork of 50 laws,” but critics say it dangerously undermines state sovereignty.
Representative Thomas Massie sounded the alarm on X, writing, “The Big Beautiful Bill contains a provision banning state & local governments from regulating AI. It’s worse than you think.”
The Big Beautiful Bill contains a provision banning state & local governments from regulating AI.
It’s worse than you think.
It would make it easier for corporations to get zoning variances, so massive AI data centers could be built in close proximity to residential areas. pic.twitter.com/w7pLJLq4nZ
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 5, 2025
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who voted for the bill, later admitted she hadn’t read the clause and said she would have opposed it if she had. “This is a poison pill,” Greene told Fox News. “We are no different than China if we tie our states’ hands for 10 years.” She also warned the lack of regulation could lead to massive job loss and economic disruption as AI technology accelerates.
The Third Way
When Thiel was asked about the quote, “The more probable the apocalypse becomes, the less we talk about it. Therefore, we have to awaken our sleeping consciences,” he didn’t take it lightly. “And I thought, this is not a game for Peter,” the interviewer noted. “You are taking this seriously.” Thiel responded, “What I hope to retrieve is a sense of the stakes, of the urgency of the question. The stakes are really, really high.”
He expressed concern that so few people today are even thinking about the Antichrist. “It seems very dangerous that we’re at a place where so few people are concerned about the Antichrist,” he said. “Yeah, it’s all the reasons we… all the reasons we’ve gone through.”
Thiel critiqued the binary framing often presented to the public—Antichrist or Armageddon. “That framing… we can envision a third way, right?” he said. “One world or none—that’s pretty hard to envision a third way. And so that’s where I think biblical language, it sounds crazier, but it’s actually more hopeful. ‘One world or none’—those are the two options.”
He continued, “We have a human self-government or human self-destruction. It’s a choice of two incredible evils.” But Thiel emphasized that it doesn’t have to be that way.
“I don’t think these things are predestined. I’m not a Calvinist,” he clarified. “I always believe there’s a space for human agency—for us to shape history. And the first step has to be not to bury our heads in the sand—or whatever the equivalent is.”
Latest Worthy News
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.