Can someone explain why Palantir are seen as such a threat? My understanding is their product is a PowerBI++ and they don't host any user data themselves. Are people scared of backdoors?
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MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
231–240 of 326 posts
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#232We're not a serious country anymore. We build very little. We control very little. Three years ago the war in Ukraine broke out causing the energy price crisis and the short term solution was the government paying a portion of everyone's bills. Three years later we're in the same situation again thanks to the US and Israel's warmongering. Are we prepared? No. What's the solution? Freezing the price caps and paying a…
You say that as if a "serious" country would have a better solution. Which countries are "serious" in your view?
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#233Palantir is dragging a small independent Swiss investigative newspaper to court because they reported[1] about Palantir getting the door slammed in their face in by several Swiss government agencies including the military over the last years. No one wants this turd of a company. [1] https://www.republik.ch/2026/02/18/how-tenaciously-palantir-...
I think there may be a bit less to that one than meets the eye. In Swiss law there's some kind of right-of-reply thing where if someone puts something about you in print and you think it's wrong you may be entitled to have some sort of response printed. And AIUI the way this works is that you go before a court and say "we want our response printed, please", and that's what Palantir's done in this case.
(Note 1: For all I know it may well be true that the reporting is 100% accurate and Palantir's claim to deserve a reply is 100% bullshit. I'm not saying they're in the right here! But I think the actual story is a bit less horrible than "Palantir is taking these guys to court because they didn't like their reporting" sounds without the relevant context. They're not, e.g., trying to get damages from the newspaper, or trying to get what they wrote retracted, or anything like that.)
(Note 2: I am not an expert on Swiss law or on this case, and I am accordingly not 100% confident of any of the above. In the unlikely event that whether I'm right about this matters to anyone reading, they should check it for themselves :-).)
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#234Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
Always interesting when you criticise Palantir on here you get downvoted, almost as if they have an "outreach department"
No the downvote is from smearing an individual for the political activities of his grandfather.
Smearing, hah, yea. The company is dodgy as fuck and you know it.
edit: just looked at your comment history too, explains a lot.
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
https://www.ft.com/content/a46cb128-1f74-4621-ab0b-242a76583... He has a paper thin understanding of classics, which he then uses a device to sprinkles everywhere to make him appear more clever. https://fortune.com/2026/02/04/peter-thiel-antichrist-greta-... I can't find the speech anymore, but his basic thrust is that Tunberg and anyone who thinks that unleashing raw AI on the internet is an antichrist. They are the…
I'm not sure being a pseudointellectual (if that's what he is) would make him evil, would it? I've seen his 'antichrist' talk as part of headlines out of context and to be honest assumed that this is a rhetorical/hyperbolic device, rather than a literal thing. Is your claim that he actually literally thinks someone is the antichrist? So far he just seems to be someone with a bent against degrowthers? Is there a speci…
> would make him evil
I should have been more clear, I am not asserting he is "evil", that is a caricature.
Given his background, and where and how he grew up, the couching of his views through evangelical eyes is cynical. I am asserting that he is a dickhead, who believes he's playing 4d chess, whilst cultivating a band of people who you would describe as "odious" at best.
Now some people might say "oh he's keeping his viewpoint broad", which is bollocks. He's always been an edgelord who thinks he's Machiavelli.
The fact that he keep Karp about, who is so obviously limited as a CEO, and doesn't put a huge fucking gag on him is a leading indicator on what he thinks is reasonable
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
The United States is no longer a reliable ally. That is the reality that the world is having to adapt to. Even when Trump is gone, it will take a long time to rebuild that trust.
Would you trust Palantir if you're I'm the US?
Surely this time around, technological advancements in the name of "national security" won't end up used on its citizens ;)
Genuinely a bit shocked at the naivety on HN on this topic but maybe thats a misunderstanding on my part. Happy to be shown otherwise. Alex Karp, if you're reading this, please don't send your fent laced urine spraying drones after me!
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll just give you one, and you can google for others: "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible." For a guy with his access to data, yes, that makes everybody's security worse.
This is an incomplete quote from a pro-freedom essay: https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio... Edit: Also, that quote does not provide evidence that he is "on the record" saying he would abuse access or make health or security worse.
You fail at reading comprehension. That's fine, but don't do it here. Thank you.
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#239Related meeting launching today about Palantir and the NHS - https://www.medact.org/event/briefing-launch-the-risks-of-pa...
The NHS is also heavily dependent on AWS.
Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
I still don't understand why Theil and Karp decided to name their surveillance tech company after a device that is best known for being used by an evil dark lord to decieve and corrupt. It's like the Mitchell and Webb skit "are we the baddies" except they're the ones who designed the uniforms with skulls on them.
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> constantly talks about the anti christ and getting rid of democracy
“He’s just got a quirky sense of humour”
Where does this inclination to completely brush off what is pretty clearly exceedingly weird and concerning behaviour come from?