> Palantir, whose software is widely used by US defence and intelligence agencies, has faced growing scrutiny in parts of Europe as governments reassess their dependence on American technology companies.
I think it's great. Europe and other regions will be building out their own tech stacks, decreasing global dependence on big US players like AWS and Palantir, creating lots more jobs for programmers and much broader ecosystems for doing things.
Palantir is clearly a mind-boggling on-the-nose, but terrible name to those familiar with the book.
The Palantiri consistently provided their users technically accurate intelligence that lead to disastrous strategic decisions.
Denethor committed suicide out of despair, after a palantir showed him the black fleet approaching, but he did not know that it was actually Aragorn who had captured the fleet and was coming with reinforcements.
We don't know specifically how the palantir deceived Saruman, but it's pretty clear it was one of the key factors in his corruption and downfall.
And even Sauron himself was misled in this way! The palantir showed him, correctly, that a hobbit and Aragorn were at Helm's Deep, and he concluded that Aragorn had the ring. So he prematurely moved his armies out of Mordor and left the plains and Mt Doom unguarded, which permitted the destruction of the ring.
I honestly can't think of a worse name for a company that provides intel for strategic decision making.
I've pointed this out before, but there's an interview clip of Alex Karp saying that Trump won the election in a landslide[0].
If you look at the actual numbers, no one, with any idea of mathematics or statistics or even just basic analysis skills, would call Trump's election victory a landslide.
It calls into question the fundamental raisin d'etre of Palantir. It makes Palantir look like a pure propaganda tool.
Therefore, also entirely useless for strategic decision making.
Its cellphones ? They show the rulers accurate predictions of human behaviour after the the fall of the towers proofed that the left only had enbarassing cofabulations to explain behaviour at scale. Thats the most valuable thing you can gain out of social network sensor data.
>I honestly can't think of a worse name for a company that provides intel for strategic decision making.
Yet the choice is very effective at telling those with eyes to see that the one who chose the name possesses only a surface-level understanding of what appears to be his favorite piece of literature.
Well, Aragorn used the information he got from the Palantir of Orthanc to make a correct and very important strategic decision, to take the Paths of the Dead so that he could stop the Corsairs in time to save Minas Tirith.
So the lesson is that you have to use the intel you get wisely, or else very bad things will happen. I'm not sure if that makes the name any better for the tool it's applied to, though.
To all investigative Journalists: Thank you for your hard work, and for being an inspiration and beacon of hope in these dark techno-feudalistic times.
Thank you for your hard work, and for being an inspiration and beacon of hope in these dark techno-feudalistic times.
The best way to thank them is to pay them for the work they do.
Donate to a journalism collective. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Some even have gift shops, so just buy some swag. (Do not send pizza, unsolicited food always goes straight into the trash.)
"Information wants to be free [as in beer]" is great for t-shirts, but leads to societal downfall.
Journalism is absolutely one of those things in life where you get what you pay for.
"Protecting privacy and upholding liberal democratic values have been central to Palantir's identity and mission since our founding in 2003." - Palantir
Anecdote: When I was looking for a job in 2014, they were present at a student job fair in Zurich. Barely knowing that company, I started off the conversation with "hey, you are creating all these intelligence tools for governments, right?".
The representative somehow started rambling incoherently about what wonderful work they do for NGOs and non-profits. Without acknowledging that their main customers are the intelligence community and law enforcement. Or telling me anything concrete their software is supposed to achieve.
Color me not surprised. Needless to say, I applied for a supposedly much lower-paying job where I actually knew what the work was about.
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[ 2.0 ms ] story [ 46.0 ms ] threadhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Archive.today_guidan...
oh that is clever writing
Well that certainly is one way to spin having 22 of your 23 counterstatement requests dismissed by the court.
I think it's great. Europe and other regions will be building out their own tech stacks, decreasing global dependence on big US players like AWS and Palantir, creating lots more jobs for programmers and much broader ecosystems for doing things.
https://www.dw.com/en/german-police-expands-use-of-palantir-...
The Palantiri consistently provided their users technically accurate intelligence that lead to disastrous strategic decisions.
Denethor committed suicide out of despair, after a palantir showed him the black fleet approaching, but he did not know that it was actually Aragorn who had captured the fleet and was coming with reinforcements.
We don't know specifically how the palantir deceived Saruman, but it's pretty clear it was one of the key factors in his corruption and downfall.
And even Sauron himself was misled in this way! The palantir showed him, correctly, that a hobbit and Aragorn were at Helm's Deep, and he concluded that Aragorn had the ring. So he prematurely moved his armies out of Mordor and left the plains and Mt Doom unguarded, which permitted the destruction of the ring.
I honestly can't think of a worse name for a company that provides intel for strategic decision making.
If you look at the actual numbers, no one, with any idea of mathematics or statistics or even just basic analysis skills, would call Trump's election victory a landslide.
It calls into question the fundamental raisin d'etre of Palantir. It makes Palantir look like a pure propaganda tool.
Therefore, also entirely useless for strategic decision making.
Interesting analysis of Palantir and Alex Karp:
Part 1, Palantir: https://youtu.be/PpEg0XIeFtA
Part 2, Alex Karp: https://youtu.be/6YWFDhOps6I
[0]https://youtu.be/6YWFDhOps6I&t=1119s
Yet the choice is very effective at telling those with eyes to see that the one who chose the name possesses only a surface-level understanding of what appears to be his favorite piece of literature.
So the lesson is that you have to use the intel you get wisely, or else very bad things will happen. I'm not sure if that makes the name any better for the tool it's applied to, though.
Well their motto is basically "Be Evil and Get Rich" so I think the name fits.
Peter Thiel routinely defends Mordor - "they had technology! The rest of the world was just agricultural luddites."
The best way to thank them is to pay them for the work they do.
Donate to a journalism collective. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Some even have gift shops, so just buy some swag. (Do not send pizza, unsolicited food always goes straight into the trash.)
"Information wants to be free [as in beer]" is great for t-shirts, but leads to societal downfall.
Journalism is absolutely one of those things in life where you get what you pay for.
lol
The representative somehow started rambling incoherently about what wonderful work they do for NGOs and non-profits. Without acknowledging that their main customers are the intelligence community and law enforcement. Or telling me anything concrete their software is supposed to achieve.
Color me not surprised. Needless to say, I applied for a supposedly much lower-paying job where I actually knew what the work was about.
Although, while I enjoy watching them lose. I don't appreciate the waste of time.
[1]: https://www.republik.ch/2026/06/13/palantir-gegen-die-republ...