The political right spent much of the last decade united against Big Tech, government surveillance, and the unprecedented expansion of state power during COVID. But the rise of artificial intelligence has brought with it an urgent need for data centers, and firms like Palantir and Flock are providing government with increasingly sophisticated tools for mass-surveillance… severing the coalition that once simultaneously maintained the slogans “back the blue” and “don’t tread on me”.

7pm ET on the ZH home/X feed.

Tonight, ZeroHedge Debates takes on the emerging fault line: Is America’s technological revolution essential to national renewal, or are conservatives embracing the very surveillance infrastructure they once feared?

Joining us are InfoWars host Harrison Smith and Jordan Schachtel, writer at dossier.today, two figures who once found themselves firmly aligned against the COVID-era regime.

At the center of the dispute are three issues: Palantir, data centers, and Flock surveillance cameras.

Schachtel calls Palantir “an exceptional American company” and argues that Flock is simply another tool for police to catch criminals… so if you opposed “defund the police”, then you ought to support Flock. 

Palantir is an exceptional American company. Benjamin Netanyahu is a great statesman of our time. Data centers are the heart of American technological infrastructure. Flock cameras are essential to city policing. Covid was a scam turned global hysteria, not a lab leak. Elon Musk… pic.twitter.com/1Wikabypui

— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) July 22, 2026

Smith on the other hand… thinks they’re just gonna f***ing kill us:

They are going to try to kill you. https://t.co/w8SFrVCe00

— Harrison H. Smith ✞ (@HarrisonHSmith) August 4, 2026

“Us” being people deemed a threat to the State, which could extend to all gun owners if the Dems take power

They want to revitalize the American heartland but NOT through tens of millions in data center revenue that saves towns.

They want to make the cities safe but NOT through Flock systems that dramatically reduce crime.

It’s always easier to do nothing at all and maintain the…

— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) August 9, 2026

President Trump recently made remarks inline with Schachtel that data centers have the potential to be a huge economic boon for the United States economy. Smith, however, does not see the tangible benefits:

Can someone tell me how a data center will improve the lives of Americans?

Explain to me the benefits that we will receive worth trillions of dollars, billions of gallons of fresh water, millions of acres of farm land, and more energy than our biggest cities.

Someone explain. pic.twitter.com/P3wkP9crhk

— Harrison H. Smith ✞ (@HarrisonHSmith) April 27, 2026

Regardless of which camp you’re in, tune in this evening on the ZeroHedge homepage and X feed at 7pm ET tonight for the showdown.