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MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

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Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#241

Post by Manuel_D »

ljm wrote: post #202
Calavar wrote: post #182

Earlier 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.

I don't think you have to understand why they made that decision, you just have to understand who they are and what they believe in. Just have a look at what they talk about, and what they are quoted as saying. Then it will start to make sense.

It'd help make your point to actually share the ominous quotes you're referring to.

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#242

Post by generic92034 »

alephnerd wrote: post #210
generic92034 wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very bold words. I am not even convinced the USA will stay relevant on the world stage, in the long run. Cutting ties hurts, but the process is underway. Also, "vassalage" is a bold word, if the US cannot make the EU give up Greenland or come running to help them in the Strait of Hormuz (there are also other examples). It is almost as if European politicians are playing it smart.

And my question is - are you fine sacrificing Ukraine in return for a Russian and Chinese military umbrella? This is the hard requirement for China to engage with the EU [0]. The answer in Poland, the Baltics, Czechia, and Finland is NO and that Russia is worse and that Ukraine must be supported, and will back the US no matter how transactional we become. The answer in Hungary, Slovakia, and Belgium [1] is YES and th…

The question is if the Chinese support for Russia can be broken, by economical incentive or threat.

But anyway, over short or long the EU needs to build its own military to a strength it can at least work as a strong deterrence for aggressors.

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#244

Post by skciva »

b800h wrote: post #219
Calavar wrote: post #182

Earlier 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.

[flagged]

A very thoughtful Christian..seems his actions differ a lot from my interoperation of the faith.

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#245

Post by strbean »

crimsoneer wrote: post #74

“Palantir does not need to own the data or even have stewardship. They can extract, transform and exploit the metadata to build their own rich picture.” Sorry, but this is full on into conspiracy theory here. Are we seriously arguing that Palantir are doing very much illegal analysis on air-gapped national security systems, and somehow exporting those and aggregating them? The exact same concerns could be articulated…

> Sorry, but this is full on into conspiracy theory here.

"Corporation says they aren't doing a bad thing so any assertion to the contrary is crazy."

Corporations actually tend to lie when they are engaged in illegal or repugnant behavior.

> The exact same concerns could be articulated for Google/AWS/Azure,

The leadership of those corporations aren't publicly supporting the dissolution of democracy to impose neo-feudalism, so that's a big difference.

To quote:

> I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.

- Peter Thiel

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#246

Post by mborch »

qweiopqweiop wrote: post #86
vrganj wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two Reasons: 1) It holds deeply sensitive data and does so in the US. In times of increased mistrust of the US, many (including myself) see that as a risky choice. 2) Speaking of mistrust in America and American corporations, have you heard their execs talk? It's absolute cuckoo-town: > If they are not scared, they don’t wake up scared, they don’t go to bed scared, they don’t fear that the wrath of America will come…

Are you sure they hold sensitive data themselves though? My understanding was they integrate their tools with customers own data and don't have access to it themselves (at least in theory). Of course I agree that quote is insane and you can dislike them for political reasons, but I want to understand the technological fears and see if any are unfounded.

Deployments can be on-prem or cloud-based depending on needs and constraints.

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#247

Post by strbean »

alxhill wrote: post #181
pjc50 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> very much illegal analysis on air-gapped national security systems They're hosted by the US. It would be illegal for them not to comply with orders to hand data over to US security services. This has been a concern since the Microsoft "safe harbour" GDPR case. It's now the same thing with much higher stakes. Since this: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/feb/18/international-cr... , no US tech company can give a…

They are _not_ hosting UK government data in the US. They offer on-premise and self-managed cloud offerings, which are often used where data sovereignty is important. Additionally, customers often manage access control - including for Palantir employees - themselves, so it would not be a simple "pull the power plug" if the US/UK relationship went awry.

They don't need to host the data for systems they develop to be subject to a national security letter.

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#248

Post by alephnerd »

generic92034 wrote: post #242
alephnerd wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And my question is - are you fine sacrificing Ukraine in return for a Russian and Chinese military umbrella? This is the hard requirement for China to engage with the EU [0]. The answer in Poland, the Baltics, Czechia, and Finland is NO and that Russia is worse and that Ukraine must be supported, and will back the US no matter how transactional we become. The answer in Hungary, Slovakia, and Belgium [1] is YES and th…

The question is if the Chinese support for Russia can be broken, by economical incentive or threat. But anyway, over short or long the EU needs to build its own military to a strength it can at least work as a strong deterrence for aggressors.

> if the Chinese support for Russia can be broken, by economical incentive...

China is not interested in breaking with Russia.

Russia helps China put pressure on Japan [0], helps China put pressure on South Korea [1], allows China to expand it's influence in Central Asia [2], acts as a backchannel for China-India diplomatic normalization [3], gives China the ability to access ONG without dealing with Hormuz or Malaccas [4], and allows China to run the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe railway [5] which continues to supply Europe with no sanctions despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.

On the other hand, the EU is tariffing Chinese goods [6]; signing FTAs with Chinese rivals like India [7], Japan [8], and South Korea [9]; and signing defense pacts with Japan [10], South Korea [11], and India [12] while allowing them to participate in ReArm Europe 2030.

Additionally, China-EU trade only represents a little over 10% of all Chinese trade [13], and is easily replaceable with expanded trade with ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, and India.

China views Russia the same way America views the EU - a weak junior partner who can be bullied. The US is somewhat trying to pull Russia to our side, and China is somewhat trying to pull the EU to their side, but the reality is both the US and China view the EU and Russia as junior partners.

> the Chinese support for Russia can be broken, by ... threat

What threat can the EU give to China? Chinese foreign policy already views the EU as sanctimonious [14], weak [15], and declining [16].

> over short or long the EU needs to build its own military to a strength it can at least work as a strong deterrence for aggressors

Yep.

But that will takes decades, which is why the US and China can both bully the EU with complete impunity today.

Heck, both China [17] and the US under Trump [18] are supporting Viktor Orban because he is a great Trojan horse.

Whenever either the US or China feels the EU is leaning towards one at the expense of the other, they then start breaking EU institutions as a result.

THIS is the world the EU exists in today.

[0] - https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russian-b...

[1] - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqxq38028djo

[2] - https://www.reuters.com/world/china-looks-strengthen-ties-ru...

[3] - https://eastasiaforum.org/2020/10/23/how-russia-emerged-as-k...

[4] - https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3345920/m...

[5] - https://carnegie.ru/commentary/?fa=64555

[6] - https://www.ft.com/content/eb677cb3-f86c-42de-b819-277bcb042...

[7] - https://commission.europa.eu/topics/trade/eu-india-trade-agr...

[8] - https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/content/eu-j...

[9] - https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/content/eu-s...

[10] - https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/pressite_000001_00703.h...

[11] - https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/security-and-defence-partner...

[12] - https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/security-and-defence-eu-and-...

[13] - http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/2025-12/14/article_2026011...

[14] - https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202603/1356666.shtml

[15] - https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202603/16/WS69b7f2e2a310d686...

[16] - https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202512/22/WS69488270a310d686...

[17] - https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202405/10/content_WS663d3b83...

[18] - https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/20...

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#249

Post by [deleted] »

KaiserPro wrote: post #199
0x3f wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly haven't heard him talk much, so would appreciate specific quotes for my analysis/interpretation.

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…

[deleted]

Re: MoD sources warn Palantir role at heart of government is threat to UK security

#250

Post by trelane »

KaiserPro wrote: post #199
0x3f wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly haven't heard him talk much, so would appreciate specific quotes for my analysis/interpretation.

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…

The op-ed does not strike me as evil.

If you could find the original video, I would like to see it. I mistakenly thought the article was referencing his talk at Cambridge Union, but it sounds like the "antichrist" talk was closed door.

His Cambridge Union speech didn't strike me as evil either.

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