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Reflections on Palantir

(nabeelqu.substack.com)
479 points freditup | 1 comments | 16 Oct 24 02:18 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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beedeebeedee ◴[17 Oct 24 14:12 UTC] No.41869866[source]▶
I'm amazed there's no discussion in the article about Palantir's role in Gaza and their development of Lavender and "Where's Daddy". That goes beyond the gray areas that the author mentions.
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talldayo[dead post] ◴[17 Oct 24 14:52 UTC] No.41870222[source]▶
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ocular-rockular ◴[17 Oct 24 14:59 UTC] No.41870296[source]▶
Given that it's a site run by a startup incubator with opaque moderation and a strong American bias, I would imagine that most things that make "line go up" are ok.
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ryandrake ◴[17 Oct 24 15:37 UTC] No.41870664[source]▶
I don't even think it's always about "line go up". I've talked to real life engineers who evidently have no ethical bar whatsoever--if the technology is cool and complex and an interesting technical problem, they'll work on it, regardless of the real-world application. "Whether my code is used ethically is someone else's problem. I just love technical challenges!" You absolutely see this mentality on HN as well.
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dingnuts[dead post] ◴[17 Oct 24 16:55 UTC] No.41871384[source]▶
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1. sofixa ◴[17 Oct 24 18:22 UTC] No.41872238{3}[source]▶
This reeks of "just following orders", combined with a healthy those dehumanising others.

Do you care if your code is used to kill literal children? Kidnap suspected terrorists (suspected based on detailed information such as their first name, their watch type, or them driving a car at the wrong time in the wrong place) and torture them to death? Where is your moral line?