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This article suggests that the Palantir software, regardless of method, was in fact instrumental in identifying a gang leader who was subsequently sentenced to

This article suggests that the Palantir software, regardless of method, was in fact instrumental in identifying a gang leader who was subsequently sentenced to 100 years in prison. And that the reason that it was cancelled was largely due to the public's discomfort with the program, as raised by a previous Verge article, that laid out the potential for civil liberties violations and potential macro ineffectiveness of Palantir's identification methodology. With that in mind it seems like Palantir's largest risk forward is running afoul of due-process for their criminality / policing divisions, not that municipalities won't fall over themselves to hand them billions in fees in the name of efficiency.

segmondy 9y ago
Rookie cops making $30k a year have also identified such criminals. Bring sentenced to 100 yrs means nothing and is irrelevant
- geofft 9y ago
  It is relevant because that specific conviction caused the public discomfort. (The defendant is claiming that the group he's affiliated with is not a gang, simply a group of acquaintances, and Palantir's analysis caused police to believe it was a gang.)
ineedasername 9y ago
The article suggests the opposite: The prosecutor contends that Palantir was a non-factor in the conviction, hence its lack of inclusion in material disclosed to the defense. The reason for the contract getting cancelled was also not confirmed or commented on by the city, the article only mentioned "some" that were "leery" of its use because it could be used to connect gang members to others. This is a very vague wording of any concerns about use of Palantir. The article was very light on content here, using words that indicate trepidation but not connected those loaded terms to any explanation. From prior stories about Palantir's lack of efficacy outside of well-resources intelligence and military venue, my guess is that lack of efficacy was the cause for the contract going belly up.
- bigiain 9y ago
  > The prosecutor contends that Palantir was a non-factor in the conviction Parallel construction as a Service. I bet with the right co-founder you'd be rolling in investment capital for that...
  - ineedasername 9y ago
    I don't see parallel construction here. There's no reason to think that any information in Palantir was inappropriately obtained without a warrant when one should have been required. Without that breach, then Palantir helped generate leads, it didn't result in parallel construction. That's not even what the defense contends in the criminal issue cited in the article: There, they simply maintain that a Brady violation occurred by not disclosing that Palantir was used, or that Palantir showed negative evidence that was favorable to the defendant. I really don't understand where any issue or suspicion of parallel construction arises from the use of Palantir. It's basically a mashup of a social network and CRM with predictive modeling on top.
    - forapurpose 9y ago
      > There's no reason to think ... There's no reason to think it happened either way. But I think there's reasonable suspicion that Palantir might have been involved. > information in Palantir was inappropriately obtained without a warrant when one should have been required That's not the only issue, or even the main one. Government investigating and collecting information on private citizens en masse, rather than individuals for cause, is very dangerous. Doing it based on decisions made by Palantir's software developers, seems even worse. > It's basically a mashup of a social network and CRM with predictive modeling on top. How do you know how it functions? And wouldn't that describe any government system used for surveilling (and sometimes oppressing) its citizens? The Stasi had the same thing, just with far less powerful tech. Using banal buzzwords doesn't make Palantir or government surveillance any more banal.
      - ineedasername 9y ago

segmondy 9y ago

Rookie cops making $30k a year have also identified such criminals. Bring sentenced to 100 yrs means nothing and is irrelevant

geofft 9y ago
It is relevant because that specific conviction caused the public discomfort. (The defendant is claiming that the group he's affiliated with is not a gang, simply a group of acquaintances, and Palantir's analysis caused police to believe it was a gang.)

ineedasername 9y ago

The article suggests the opposite: The prosecutor contends that Palantir was a non-factor in the conviction, hence its lack of inclusion in material disclosed to the defense. The reason for the contract getting cancelled was also not confirmed or commented on by the city, the article only mentioned "some" that were "leery" of its use because it could be used to connect gang members to others. This is a very vague wording of any concerns about use of Palantir. The article was very light on content here, using words that indicate trepidation but not connected those loaded terms to any explanation. From prior stories about Palantir's lack of efficacy outside of well-resources intelligence and military venue, my guess is that lack of efficacy was the cause for the contract going belly up.

bigiain 9y ago
> The prosecutor contends that Palantir was a non-factor in the conviction Parallel construction as a Service. I bet with the right co-founder you'd be rolling in investment capital for that...
- ineedasername 9y ago
  I don't see parallel construction here. There's no reason to think that any information in Palantir was inappropriately obtained without a warrant when one should have been required. Without that breach, then Palantir helped generate leads, it didn't result in parallel construction. That's not even what the defense contends in the criminal issue cited in the article: There, they simply maintain that a Brady violation occurred by not disclosing that Palantir was used, or that Palantir showed negative evidence that was favorable to the defendant. I really don't understand where any issue or suspicion of parallel construction arises from the use of Palantir. It's basically a mashup of a social network and CRM with predictive modeling on top.
  - forapurpose 9y ago
    > There's no reason to think ... There's no reason to think it happened either way. But I think there's reasonable suspicion that Palantir might have been involved. > information in Palantir was inappropriately obtained without a warrant when one should have been required That's not the only issue, or even the main one. Government investigating and collecting information on private citizens en masse, rather than individuals for cause, is very dangerous. Doing it based on decisions made by Palantir's software developers, seems even worse. > It's basically a mashup of a social network and CRM with predictive modeling on top. How do you know how it functions? And wouldn't that describe any government system used for surveilling (and sometimes oppressing) its citizens? The Stasi had the same thing, just with far less powerful tech. Using banal buzzwords doesn't make Palantir or government surveillance any more banal.
    - ineedasername 9y ago