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Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

heise.de

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Re: Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

#11

Post by bigyabai »

smegma2 wrote: post #7

Not trying to be contrarian here, but I don’t get the problem. What’s wrong with Palantir producing weapons or military intelligence? How is it different from making guns? Is the problem what those things are used for, or is it the way Palantir does it?

Palantir aggregates immorally collected advertisement data and de-anonymizes it before selling it to the government. It's abuse of a dual-use data source that has no opt-out for any free citizen; maybe that concerns you, maybe it doesn't.

Their biggest issue is their leadership, though. If Alex Karp had two ounces of morality to rub together then it might be an easier pill to swallow, but instead he harps about how proud they are to kill people with AdSense data. It feels like the immorality is the point.

Re: Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

#13

Post by Sparkle-san »

smegma2 wrote: post #7

Not trying to be contrarian here, but I don’t get the problem. What’s wrong with Palantir producing weapons or military intelligence? How is it different from making guns? Is the problem what those things are used for, or is it the way Palantir does it?

I think fewer people would care about Palantir (and several other notable companies) if their CEOs/founders weren't using the company as a platform for their own ambitions and ideologies.

Re: Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

#14

Post by gkoberger »

smegma2 wrote: post #7

Not trying to be contrarian here, but I don’t get the problem. What’s wrong with Palantir producing weapons or military intelligence? How is it different from making guns? Is the problem what those things are used for, or is it the way Palantir does it?

For me, it's the blur between who makes decisions. I don't love our government making decisions about who lives or dies, but I much prefer decisions to be made by a/ a human b/ one who isn't beholden to shareholders.

Re: Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

#15

Post by Matl »

some_random wrote: post #5

[flagged]

I don't know about progressives specifically, but I don't think 'cannot empathize with their opponents at all' is what articles like this are doing. It's more that the more people like Alex Karp talk the more they prove that their morality is something which should be opposed by the general public. IMO the more Palantir talks the better.

Re: Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

#16

Post by avazhi »

gkoberger wrote: post #6

"You're attacking the person who's protecting you – idiot. [..] You may hate this, but there's one person protecting your rights to be a conspiracy theorist that actually has a seat at the table, and that person is me. [..] You may not want to hear that truth, but it's fucking true." The way Alex Karp views himself is scary; he gives himself (and his company) carte blanche when it comes to morality. He's basically be…

[flagged]

Re: Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

#17

Post by ta9000 »

avazhi wrote: post #16
gkoberger wrote: post #6

"You're attacking the person who's protecting you – idiot. [..] You may hate this, but there's one person protecting your rights to be a conspiracy theorist that actually has a seat at the table, and that person is me. [..] You may not want to hear that truth, but it's fucking true." The way Alex Karp views himself is scary; he gives himself (and his company) carte blanche when it comes to morality. He's basically be…

[flagged]

I choose neither.

Re: Palantir defends its role in the kill chain

#19

Post by gkoberger »

avazhi wrote: post #16
gkoberger wrote: post #6

"You're attacking the person who's protecting you – idiot. [..] You may hate this, but there's one person protecting your rights to be a conspiracy theorist that actually has a seat at the table, and that person is me. [..] You may not want to hear that truth, but it's fucking true." The way Alex Karp views himself is scary; he gives himself (and his company) carte blanche when it comes to morality. He's basically be…

[flagged]

Sure, me too. But that was the point of his character – the false equivalence that he was the good guy, and those are the two options.

He justified ignoring the rules, which lead to the death of someone in his command, due to his own moral arrogance.

There's a third option. Someone who understands the weight of the role and holds themselves (or is held) accountable.

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