Paul Graham

Paul Graham publicly criticized Palantir Technologies over its $30 million ImmigrationOS contract with ICE, urging programmers not to work for 'the company building the infrastructure of the police state.' He pressed a Palantir executive to commit not to build things that help the government violate the US constitution.

Graham published a widely-read essay titled 'The Origins of Wokeness' that described 'wokeness' as a 'mind virus' emerging from universities. The essay targeted BLM, Me Too movement, and DEI initiatives, and suggested organizations remove 'aggressively conventional-minded people.' Critics noted he erased the term's Black vernacular origins. A transgender YC alum said the essay 'creates the permission structure for people to discriminate against me.'

Graham gave a lukewarm endorsement of Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, stating 'Harris is a typical politician. But Trump is a crook. You can't have that sort of person as president.' He cited Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election as 'banana republic stuff.'

Paul Graham expressed sustained opposition to AI regulation efforts, warning Biden's October 2023 Executive Order means 'government regulating private individuals' computing at an exponential rate.' He mocked UK AI regulation efforts and advocated for the UK to become a regulatory haven from EU AI Act restrictions.

Graham made statements that drew criticism including asking 'What would you do to get 13-year-old girls interested in computers?' when questioned about low rates of female YC founders, and stating that founders with 'strong foreign accents' are less successful. He later walked back some comments.

Paul Graham became a major contributor to FWD.us, a tech-funded immigration reform advocacy group founded in 2013. He published the essay 'Let the Other 95% of Great Programmers In' arguing that the US should allow more foreign programmers to immigrate, stating that '95% of great programmers are born outside the US' and advocating for expanded H1B visa access.