When Peter Thiel and Don Jr. Lose, It’s a Great Week for Humanity
By Virginia Heffernan,
The New Republic
| 05. 29. 2026
For us mere mortals, from the pope’s encyclical to the total failure of the Enhanced Games, it’s been a pretty good week.
Here and there, it’s been a good month for humanity—or “magnificas humanitas,” as Pope Leo XIV calls us poor featherless bipeds.
On May 25, the pope published his encyclical letter “on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.” It made a stern but loving case against AI fatalism, reminding humans of our intrinsic worth and cautioning against seeking transcendence in tech rather than grace.
But the human person got another boost in late May. It came from a less holy figure too: Peter Thiel, net worth $28 billion.
As the founder of omnipresent MAGA AI surveillance machine Palantirand longtime student of the Antichrist, Thiel didn’t mean to help out humanity. Benevolence is not his strong suit. He’s out to live forever and build a master race. But by failing to make the case for transhumanism with his much-hyped Enhanced Games, a pro-doping sports event, Thiel accidentally showcased what’s magnificent about humanity.
What makes Thiel’s Enhanced Games different from other competitions is that at his games, which wrapped May 24 in (where else?)...
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