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I don't accept this. This is shirking responsibility for what one has brought into the world. Technology has a moral component that can't be ignored in the name

I don't accept this. This is shirking responsibility for what one has brought into the world. Technology has a moral component that can't be ignored in the name of progressive idealism. It's both/and.

m-p-3 7y ago
Still, if someone crafts a knife and someone uses it to hurt another I'll blame the user, not the crafter.
- overthemoon 7y ago
  The time has passed to blame the knife maker, unfortunately. I'd like to give him a piece of my mind. Kidding aside, I see where you're coming from. I'm not trying to excuse lawmakers or the people who fire the gun, operate the drone, etc. I'm just saying the knife inventor is a part of the chain, he or she is not a neutral party.
- mulmen 7y ago
  That’s not compelling. Knives have practical and constructive uses outside harming people. Palantir is being used as designed.
- convolvatron 7y ago
  sure. but I sell you a knife and you come back and ask for a bunch of features that make it easier to hide, and a special curve to make it easier to get underneath the human ribcage, and a wider blade that makes wounds heal more slowly, etc....at some point you have to accept your complicity
- 49531 7y ago
  There is a difference between crafting a knife and crafting a tool specifically for harmful purposes. The IBM engineers who helped Germany facilitate the holocaust are probably a bit more involved in evil than a knife crafter.
  - jonathankoren 7y ago
    Hell. They forward deployed engineers (just like Palantir!) > Particularly powerful are the newly-released copies of the IBM concentration camp codes. IBM maintained a customer site, known as the Hollerith Department, in virtually every concentration camp to sort or process punch cards and track prisoners. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ibm-holocaust_b_1301691 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ibm-holocaust_b_1301691
- ajna91 7y ago
  What if somebody discovers two feuding tribes in the jungle and decides to sell them deadly knives by advertising their killing ability? Note: My comment is responding to the general idea of disclaiming responsibility. I don't know enough about this company to judge.
- homonculus1 7y ago
  Does the crafter still avoid blame if they were knowingly contracting to craft knives for a gang that has a history of hurting others?
- cannonedhamster 7y ago
  You can't have it both ways. Police can easily hold someone as guilty of a crime for being in the same car as someone committing a crime. If you can be charged for that then a creator can be held complicit for any actions done using their software as intended.
  - FireBeyond 7y ago
    Within reason. I am no apologist for a lot of police misdeeds and dual standards, but whilst you _can_, often you won't, depending on context: multiple high speed chases around where I live have resulted from police lighting a car up, and the driver failing to stop. Passengers in the car were "released on scene", because there was a recognition that they did not commit the failure to stop (and other associated offenses), nor could they safely extricate themselves from proximity.
- anigbrowl 7y ago
  A better analogy would be someone with a knife asking Palantir to draw up a list of people that can be stabbed with impunity.

m-p-3 7y ago

Still, if someone crafts a knife and someone uses it to hurt another I'll blame the user, not the crafter.

overthemoon 7y ago
The time has passed to blame the knife maker, unfortunately. I'd like to give him a piece of my mind. Kidding aside, I see where you're coming from. I'm not trying to excuse lawmakers or the people who fire the gun, operate the drone, etc. I'm just saying the knife inventor is a part of the chain, he or she is not a neutral party.
mulmen 7y ago
That’s not compelling. Knives have practical and constructive uses outside harming people. Palantir is being used as designed.
convolvatron 7y ago
sure. but I sell you a knife and you come back and ask for a bunch of features that make it easier to hide, and a special curve to make it easier to get underneath the human ribcage, and a wider blade that makes wounds heal more slowly, etc....at some point you have to accept your complicity
49531 7y ago
There is a difference between crafting a knife and crafting a tool specifically for harmful purposes. The IBM engineers who helped Germany facilitate the holocaust are probably a bit more involved in evil than a knife crafter.
- jonathankoren 7y ago
  Hell. They forward deployed engineers (just like Palantir!) > Particularly powerful are the newly-released copies of the IBM concentration camp codes. IBM maintained a customer site, known as the Hollerith Department, in virtually every concentration camp to sort or process punch cards and track prisoners. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ibm-holocaust_b_1301691 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ibm-holocaust_b_1301691
ajna91 7y ago
What if somebody discovers two feuding tribes in the jungle and decides to sell them deadly knives by advertising their killing ability? Note: My comment is responding to the general idea of disclaiming responsibility. I don't know enough about this company to judge.
homonculus1 7y ago
Does the crafter still avoid blame if they were knowingly contracting to craft knives for a gang that has a history of hurting others?
cannonedhamster 7y ago
You can't have it both ways. Police can easily hold someone as guilty of a crime for being in the same car as someone committing a crime. If you can be charged for that then a creator can be held complicit for any actions done using their software as intended.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  Within reason. I am no apologist for a lot of police misdeeds and dual standards, but whilst you _can_, often you won't, depending on context: multiple high speed chases around where I live have resulted from police lighting a car up, and the driver failing to stop. Passengers in the car were "released on scene", because there was a recognition that they did not commit the failure to stop (and other associated offenses), nor could they safely extricate themselves from proximity.
anigbrowl 7y ago
A better analogy would be someone with a knife asking Palantir to draw up a list of people that can be stabbed with impunity.