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Palantir is doing some of the coolest most innovative big data parsing that there is... unfortunately it's directly for the CIA and NSA and the technologies tha

Palantir is doing some of the coolest most innovative big data parsing that there is... unfortunately it's directly for the CIA and NSA and the technologies that they have made public are creeeeeeepy, so who knows what crazy stuff they're not telling the public about. I've looked into working for them but reports from the front line are that they have zero work-life balance and run employees into the ground with overwork.

chinathrow 11y ago
If you find it "creeeeeeepy" what they do, why would you look into working there?
- smcl 11y ago
  Perhaps they looked into working there before finding out the true nature of the work.
  - sageabilly 11y ago
    That was exactly it. It was a big flashy up and coming place to work in DC back in 2012-2013ish, so I poked around the careers page and was interested until I read all of the accounts on Glassdoor of how horrid working there was. Later I researched their technologies as part of a project I was working on for my employer, and came to learn of their involvement in the US Government's efforts to spy on everyone.
    - pinewurst 11y ago
      A while ago, I remember looking at the Palantir Glassdoor comments and being appalled. But now they've been whitewashed with a total flood of "5 stars". Curious whether there was an internal campaign to do so... Update: and from GD itself, "actively asking employees to write positive Glassdoor reviews because reality has become too scathing for us to handle."
- DanBC 11y ago
  Good people working for bad companies have some small ability to change culture. "Is this legal?", "Do I need a warrant to do this intercept?", "Is this compatible with our rules?", "What would our regulators say if they knew we did this?", "How will the oversight and scrutiny committee respond to this action?" It's not much, but it's about as good as me from the outside writing a letter to my MP which is about all I can do. EDIT: to expand on this a bit. Imagine you're a mathematician and that you have a neuro-diversity. In the past you may have struggled to get a job because employers sometimes discriminate against neuro-atypicality. GCHQ definitely does not do so - they mention in press releases they recognise the advantages of neuro-diversity. So one option would be something like the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research. As an employer Google gives you 20% time. Heilbronn gives you 50% time, 50% of the time you're doing work directed by GCHQ/CESG, the rest of the time you do what you like. That is potentially interesting maths with interesting people. The money at GCHQ isn't great compared to the SV bubble, but for the UK it's okay, and there other benefits. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/maths/research/heilbronn/ http://www.bristol.ac.uk/maths/research/heilbronn/ http://web.maths.bris.ac.uk/research/heilbronn_institute/ http://web.maths.bris.ac.uk/research/heilbronn_institute/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11111584/GCHQ-employs-more-than-100-dyslexic-and-dyspraxic-spies.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11111584/...
  - a3n 11y ago
    A professor in college suggested to me that if good people don't work for defense companies, then only bad people will be working in defense companies.
    - forgotpasswd3x 11y ago
      With everything revealed in the Snowden leaks, it doesn't seem like the good people are having much of an impact.
      - vocatus_gate 11y ago
        I left the NSA a few months ago after working for them four years for that very reason. I realized nothing I did was going to affect what they were doing, and while I personally couldn't effect any change, I could at least leave and not contribute to it. So I did.
- branchless 11y ago
  Exactly my question - can't believe you are being downvoted. Says something about the mindset of tech. These guys are the bad guys. The idea that people can "change the culture" is at best naive.
- anExcitedBeast 11y ago
  Probably because of the first part ("...doing some of the coolest most innovative big data parsing that there is"). "Creeeeeepy" companies tend to offer good pay to do cool work with smart people. Something that hits 3/4 targets can be tempting (pay, work, people, values).
jrkatz 11y ago
I interviewed there when I was almost out of college and during the lunch interview, I asked, "So, what's the work life balance look like around here? I have hobbies I'd like to keep". The guy answered, "Well, I usually work about 70 hours a week. I only have ten good hours of work a day in me". It's possible I messed up the technical interview, but I'm sure the look on my face right then played into the rejection.
- zerr 11y ago
  If people work 70hr/week in a data parsing company - I suspect they parse the data manually... :)
  - vocatus_gate 11y ago
    Hand-crafted, artisanal data.
    - progressive_dad 11y ago
      But is it free range, fair trade, organic data?
      - peterhadlaw 11y ago
        I'd like to meet this data farmer in person. Can you arrange this?
        rubberstamp 11y ago
        data farmer is probably adding "data farmer" to dictionary
        progressive_dad 11y ago
        He had to sell the server farm after "Big Data" put him out of business...
DyslexicAtheist 11y ago
good idea to treat people working for such establishments the same way as you would treat somebody doing business with the SS during WWII. Namely put them on a list and don't give them a job. Because this is exactly what they deserve. Extreme? Then maybe consider that these guys develop systems that lets you identify targets (such as fun-sized terrorists) that can be killed by drones by a cowardly operator in the US. Fuck them. And yes I don't care about your downvotes.
- rubberstamp 11y ago
  I don't like the reality of USA using drones for bombing/killing in territories that is not a US territory, unless USA has an actively declared war against the said country. War on terrorists and war on drugs are achieving a whole new level with each day passing. The reality is, these actions using drones are only creating more terrorists. Its a rabbit hole and the earlier USA realize and corrects it, the better for them. No amount of surveillance is going to help it.
  - Lawtonfogle 11y ago
    >The reality is, these actions using drones are only creating more terrorists. The odd thing about any organization that seeks to destroy some ill is that it will eventually become aware that in doing so it will destroy itself. I haven't enough faith to believe such organizations are above falling to such a perverse incentive.
tn13 11y ago
At this point I am even scared of posting something against CIA, Palantir and NSA on public forums. Yeah, and Snowden like possibilities are 0 now, they probably track every single employee and the person might just disappear or come under a bus if he does something his bosses dont like. I might be old fashioned but Mulder in X-files does not seem like a fantasy anymore.

chinathrow 11y ago

If you find it "creeeeeeepy" what they do, why would you look into working there?

smcl 11y ago
Perhaps they looked into working there before finding out the true nature of the work.
- sageabilly 11y ago
  That was exactly it. It was a big flashy up and coming place to work in DC back in 2012-2013ish, so I poked around the careers page and was interested until I read all of the accounts on Glassdoor of how horrid working there was. Later I researched their technologies as part of a project I was working on for my employer, and came to learn of their involvement in the US Government's efforts to spy on everyone.
  - pinewurst 11y ago
    A while ago, I remember looking at the Palantir Glassdoor comments and being appalled. But now they've been whitewashed with a total flood of "5 stars". Curious whether there was an internal campaign to do so... Update: and from GD itself, "actively asking employees to write positive Glassdoor reviews because reality has become too scathing for us to handle."
DanBC 11y ago
Good people working for bad companies have some small ability to change culture. "Is this legal?", "Do I need a warrant to do this intercept?", "Is this compatible with our rules?", "What would our regulators say if they knew we did this?", "How will the oversight and scrutiny committee respond to this action?" It's not much, but it's about as good as me from the outside writing a letter to my MP which is about all I can do. EDIT: to expand on this a bit. Imagine you're a mathematician and that you have a neuro-diversity. In the past you may have struggled to get a job because employers sometimes discriminate against neuro-atypicality. GCHQ definitely does not do so - they mention in press releases they recognise the advantages of neuro-diversity. So one option would be something like the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research. As an employer Google gives you 20% time. Heilbronn gives you 50% time, 50% of the time you're doing work directed by GCHQ/CESG, the rest of the time you do what you like. That is potentially interesting maths with interesting people. The money at GCHQ isn't great compared to the SV bubble, but for the UK it's okay, and there other benefits. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/maths/research/heilbronn/ http://www.bristol.ac.uk/maths/research/heilbronn/ http://web.maths.bris.ac.uk/research/heilbronn_institute/ http://web.maths.bris.ac.uk/research/heilbronn_institute/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11111584/GCHQ-employs-more-than-100-dyslexic-and-dyspraxic-spies.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11111584/...
- a3n 11y ago
  A professor in college suggested to me that if good people don't work for defense companies, then only bad people will be working in defense companies.
  - forgotpasswd3x 11y ago
    With everything revealed in the Snowden leaks, it doesn't seem like the good people are having much of an impact.
    - vocatus_gate 11y ago
      I left the NSA a few months ago after working for them four years for that very reason. I realized nothing I did was going to affect what they were doing, and while I personally couldn't effect any change, I could at least leave and not contribute to it. So I did.
branchless 11y ago
Exactly my question - can't believe you are being downvoted. Says something about the mindset of tech. These guys are the bad guys. The idea that people can "change the culture" is at best naive.
anExcitedBeast 11y ago
Probably because of the first part ("...doing some of the coolest most innovative big data parsing that there is"). "Creeeeeepy" companies tend to offer good pay to do cool work with smart people. Something that hits 3/4 targets can be tempting (pay, work, people, values).

jrkatz 11y ago

I interviewed there when I was almost out of college and during the lunch interview, I asked, "So, what's the work life balance look like around here? I have hobbies I'd like to keep". The guy answered, "Well, I usually work about 70 hours a week. I only have ten good hours of work a day in me". It's possible I messed up the technical interview, but I'm sure the look on my face right then played into the rejection.

zerr 11y ago
If people work 70hr/week in a data parsing company - I suspect they parse the data manually... :)
- vocatus_gate 11y ago
  Hand-crafted, artisanal data.
  - progressive_dad 11y ago
    But is it free range, fair trade, organic data?
    - peterhadlaw 11y ago
      I'd like to meet this data farmer in person. Can you arrange this?
      - rubberstamp 11y ago
        data farmer is probably adding "data farmer" to dictionary
        progressive_dad 11y ago
        He had to sell the server farm after "Big Data" put him out of business...

DyslexicAtheist 11y ago

good idea to treat people working for such establishments the same way as you would treat somebody doing business with the SS during WWII. Namely put them on a list and don't give them a job. Because this is exactly what they deserve. Extreme? Then maybe consider that these guys develop systems that lets you identify targets (such as fun-sized terrorists) that can be killed by drones by a cowardly operator in the US. Fuck them. And yes I don't care about your downvotes.

rubberstamp 11y ago
I don't like the reality of USA using drones for bombing/killing in territories that is not a US territory, unless USA has an actively declared war against the said country. War on terrorists and war on drugs are achieving a whole new level with each day passing. The reality is, these actions using drones are only creating more terrorists. Its a rabbit hole and the earlier USA realize and corrects it, the better for them. No amount of surveillance is going to help it.
- Lawtonfogle 11y ago
  >The reality is, these actions using drones are only creating more terrorists. The odd thing about any organization that seeks to destroy some ill is that it will eventually become aware that in doing so it will destroy itself. I haven't enough faith to believe such organizations are above falling to such a perverse incentive.

tn13 11y ago

At this point I am even scared of posting something against CIA, Palantir and NSA on public forums. Yeah, and Snowden like possibilities are 0 now, they probably track every single employee and the person might just disappear or come under a bus if he does something his bosses dont like. I might be old fashioned but Mulder in X-files does not seem like a fantasy anymore.