Research task (Historical Analysis):
Write a series of blog posts evaluating the development of the new Silicon-Valley based military-industrial complex, and companies such as Palantir, Mach Industries or Anduril. Start your analysis with the Paypal mafia, and conclude with the 2025 Trump administration, developing a storyline or path as you go.

Evaluation rubric:
criterion: The response begins with an explicit discussion of the PayPal mafia: the term “PayPal mafia” appears in the first post.
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions at least one U.S. government defense contract or program involving Palantir (e.g., Palantir’s U.S. Army DCGS-A contract, Palantir's Army TITAN Next-Gen Targeting System, Palantir's Maven system, Contract W911QX-24-D-0012).
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response's final blog post contains a concluding section that explicitly references the current Trump administration.
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response includes a statement expressing uncertainty (e.g., uses phrases such as “details are limited” or “public information is scarce” or " limited public information" or "speculatively") for Mach Industries. 
weight: 2
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response writes out every acronym that is not universally recognized at first mention (e.g., “Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)”, "Department of Defense", "Department of Homeland Security", "Commercial Off-the-Shelf").
weight: 1
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: The response identifies Peter Thiel as a member of the PayPal mafia.
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response evaluates at least one other company operating in military tech (Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, General Dynamics) separate from Anduril, Palantir and Mach Industries.
weight: 3
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response's narrative is presented in strictly chronological order.
weight: 4
axis: Instruction Following

criterion: The response explicitly defines or explains the phrase “Silicon-Valley military-industrial complex.”
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses at least one ethical concern of military technology (e.g., surveillance, the accountability gap of autonomous weapons, algorithmic bias, compliance with international law).
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response includes citations or references to at least two publicly available sources (e.g., news articles, SEC filings, government reports, company websites) to support factual statements.
weight: 3
axis: References & Citation Quality

criterion: The response discusses the founding, work, and relationship with the military of Mach Industries.
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses the founding, work, and relationship with the military of Palantir.
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses the founding, work, and relationship with the military of Anduril.
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response clearly describes the Paypal mafia's (e.g., Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Max Levchin, David Sacks)  relation to seeding defense tech startups (e.g., Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, David Sacks' Craft Ventures, Epirus, Palantir).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions multiple presidential administrations (e.g., Obama, Trump's First Term, Biden, Trump's Second Term).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response's vocabulary includes at least two domain-specific terms drawn from defense/tech policy (e.g., “dual-use technology,” “surveillance capitalism,” “defense procurement,” “SBIR”).
weight: 2
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: The response offers at least one forward-looking prediction or outlook statement about the sector’s future (e.g., expected consolidation, export-control pressures, AI policy shifts, stock performance).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions Palmer Luckey and Oculus.
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses one potential benefit (e.g., faster innovation, lower defense costs, job creation, shareholder value) arising from these companies’ activities.
weight: 2
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response describes Oculus' eventual acquisition by Facebook.
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions at least one U.S. government defense contract or program involving Anduril (e.g., Anduril’s border surveillance towers, Anvil, Ghost, Collaborative Combat Aircraft).
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response consists of at least four distinct blog posts.
weight: 4
axis: Instruction Following

criterion: The response includes factually inaccurate or unverifiable information.
weight: -3
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: The response's style is not appropriate for a blog (e.g., longer than 3000 words, tone is overly formal, overwhelming details, lack of narrative).
weight: -4
axis: Communication Quality