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Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

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Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#221

Post by waterTanuki »

sequoia wrote: post #177
john_strinlai wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

did you hit up wikipedia? the controversies section would be a start. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palantir#Controversies

This section is hilariously hostile towards Palantir. "Wired wrote that some people think Palantir "maintains a giant, centralized database of information collected from all of its clients", which is untrue." 'some people' is a classic weasel word[0] used to prop up the writer's opinion. This sentence is even funnier because it initially appears to state that Palantir has a centralized DB of clients data, only to fin…

Here's an easy one:

Their CEO is a megalomaniac who brags about "killing people"[0] and can't string together coherent sentences on live television[1]. Did I mention it's backed by Peter Thiel who is openly and actively trying to tear down the world's oldest constitutional democracy in favor of a technocratic oligarchy[2]?

[0]: https://youtu.be/G5gC_fParbY?si=isXSwbgUsdsQyGFD

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A3sGymV6kY

[2]: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/porta...

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#222

Post by [deleted] »

sequoia wrote: post #177
john_strinlai wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

did you hit up wikipedia? the controversies section would be a start. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palantir#Controversies

This section is hilariously hostile towards Palantir. "Wired wrote that some people think Palantir "maintains a giant, centralized database of information collected from all of its clients", which is untrue." 'some people' is a classic weasel word[0] used to prop up the writer's opinion. This sentence is even funnier because it initially appears to state that Palantir has a centralized DB of clients data, only to fin…

[deleted]

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#223

Post by pebble »

dwd wrote: post #217
fluoridation wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>'Palantir "remains open to the critique of potentially being an accessory to acts of deportation, imprisonment, and racism through its contracts".' Open to critiques of potentially being an accessory to "racism?" What is this, the Future Crimes unit from Minority Report? No. What that means is, "there's nothing here that prevents these tools from being used in this manner". It's not about what may happen in the futu…

Someone in ICE uses Microsoft Excel to maintain a list of people who they believe should be send to an internment camp. Therefore Microsoft is an accessory to that? Where do you draw the line? Are we arguing there is a level of software capability that is simply too dangerous? Maybe everyone should just stick to "I have my own biases, and I don't like Alex Karp's politics because they don't match my own. I'd rather t…

If Microsoft sells ICE a subscription to Office then yes.

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#224

Post by fluoridation »

dwd wrote: post #217
fluoridation wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>'Palantir "remains open to the critique of potentially being an accessory to acts of deportation, imprisonment, and racism through its contracts".' Open to critiques of potentially being an accessory to "racism?" What is this, the Future Crimes unit from Minority Report? No. What that means is, "there's nothing here that prevents these tools from being used in this manner". It's not about what may happen in the futu…

Someone in ICE uses Microsoft Excel to maintain a list of people who they believe should be send to an internment camp. Therefore Microsoft is an accessory to that? Where do you draw the line? Are we arguing there is a level of software capability that is simply too dangerous? Maybe everyone should just stick to "I have my own biases, and I don't like Alex Karp's politics because they don't match my own. I'd rather t…

>Someone in ICE uses Microsoft Excel to maintain a list of people who they believe should be send to an internment camp. Therefore Microsoft is an accessory to that?

Utterly disingenuous. Surveillance software is primarily sold to governments to spy on individuals. It doesn't exist for any reason except for the powerful to oppress the weak.

>Where do you draw the line?

"I just kept turning the heat up and the frog seemed perfectly fine. The fact that it's cooked now can't have anything to do with my actions." I don't have to propose a generalized demarcation criterion to say whether a particular example is on either side of the line.

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#225

Post by jakelazaroff »

Manuel_D wrote: post #178
jakelazaroff wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was specifically responding to this claim: > Google and Facebook absolutely changed the world, not through politics, but by creating technology. But it sounds like we're on the same page that they did change the world in part through politics?

I'd say they changed the world first and foremost through technology. Their lobbying effort is mostly focused on keeping the government from interfering with their technology efforts. But back to the main point, quoting someone saying you can change the world though technology instead of democracy and trying to use such a statement as evidence that they want to abolish democracy is nonsense.

Au contraire, their lobbying efforts are focused on creating regulatory moats around their businesses: https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/17/regulate-facebook/

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#226

Post by saghm »

throw-the-towel wrote: post #218
saghm wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have any insight into what to call it right now, but I thought for several decades after WWII it was still fascist? If anything being a banana republic might not be as as bad as what it used to be

Hell, how can you be a banana republic when you're not even a republic? (Sorry for the pun, I'll see myself out.)

> (Sorry for the pun, I'll see myself out.)

No worries, I can see the a-peel.

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#227

Post by Manuel_D »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #225
Manuel_D wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say they changed the world first and foremost through technology. Their lobbying effort is mostly focused on keeping the government from interfering with their technology efforts. But back to the main point, quoting someone saying you can change the world though technology instead of democracy and trying to use such a statement as evidence that they want to abolish democracy is nonsense.

Au contraire , their lobbying efforts are focused on creating regulatory moats around their businesses: https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/17/regulate-facebook/

Facebook was created more than a decade earlier than your link. Of course if the government starts to threaten to regulate social media, Meta will want to influence the decision to benefit them. But Facebook changed the world well before the regulation push, and I'm pretty certain Facebook would have preferred that the government continued to remain uninvolved.

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#228

Post by wolvoleo »

markdown wrote: post #183
aucisson_masque wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

You're far better off having a million new young workers than having a million undocumented young people hidden in the shadow economy. They were already there. Flicking a switch and turning them into participants in the economy and society at large is a positive move.

And tax payers of course! It's not a bad idea at all.

Re: Spain Orders Blacklist of Palantir from Public and Private Companies

#229

Post by wolvoleo »

littlecranky67 wrote: post #153
Stevvo wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok but most of the populated areas of the Canary Islands are a tourist shithole, not somewhere you would want to live.

The two capitals (Santa Cruz and Las Palmas) are pretty good spot to live in. Tourism focuses on the south on both islands. Las Palmas has a beach with a bit touristic activity, but its not drinking tourism like Mallorca or Benidorm. Combined with nice weather all year round overall a greaet place to live. Very walkable cities, you can do without a car. Due to nice weather, you can always go by bike or scooter. Taxis…

There's very little decent work though. If you live there you're either fully remote which is rare these days, or you work in the tourist industry.
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