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I used to think the same. I now think that this reasoning is faulty. Cars can be used for good or evil. For the most part we leave it up to the users to do t

I used to think the same. I now think that this reasoning is faulty. Cars can be used for good or evil. For the most part we leave it up to the users to do the right thing, however we don't just leave it up to the users. If a modern car manufacturer were to make a vehicle with no safety features whatsoever, we would rightly call them out as a bad actor. Seat belts, air bags, bumpers, crumple zones, defoggers, windshield wipers, and on and on. We have laws that require a basic level of safety for these potentially dangerous machines. There is no reason we shouldn't expect tech and software firms to include basic "safety" considerations of their own. Remember all those companies that helped implement censorship and spying systems for authoritarian regimes? Still thing it should up to "the lawmakers"?

sfotm 7y ago
At the same time, a lot of those safety features are enforced by the governments of the people they're manufactured for. Depending on the country you buy a vehicle in, it may have more or fewer security features. Of course, for cars, safety is a marketable feature so it behooves them to make them somewhat safe. In this instance, it seems like these precautions are against the user's interests, which complicates things.
ng12 7y ago
I think this is a good analog for what Palantir does, actually. The thing to note is that Palantir is not in the data collection industry, or even the data storage industry. They are in the data analysis industry. One way or another California cops are going to build or buy tools that allow them to access their data, it might as well be from a company like Palantir which is security-minded.
headUpUR_ASS 7y ago
Seat belts, air bags, bumpers, crumple zones, defoggers, windshield wipers, and on and on. We have laws that require a basic level of safety for these potentially dangerous machines. I’d like to introduce you to a mind-blowing concept vehicle: The Motorcycle. Anyone over the age of 17 can ride one. They have no seat belts, windshields or bumpers, and they carry high rates of fatalities relative to the accidents that involve them, when compared to all other vehicles on public roads. You are free to choose them over ordinary automobiles at your option in most countries. Many vehicles are street legal, but not sold by commercial dealers, and still find their way onto public roads. People find ways around the implicit suggestions pushed upon any given market place. The market doesn’t always offer the best choices, but flexibility is a good thing. Anyway, this is really about over-funded, near miltary yet still “civilian” law enforcement operations cutting across every jurisdiction to do whatever a handful of unelected people think ought to happen and carry the leverage to push their whims anywhere they want, simply because there’s no realistic counter to their privatized intent. Think tanks sit around and muse about this and that, and then private militaries come out of the woodwork to advise federal employees about... whatever they want. It’s going to keep happening. And unless you’re a billionaire, you don’t even have a seat at the table.

sfotm 7y ago

At the same time, a lot of those safety features are enforced by the governments of the people they're manufactured for. Depending on the country you buy a vehicle in, it may have more or fewer security features. Of course, for cars, safety is a marketable feature so it behooves them to make them somewhat safe. In this instance, it seems like these precautions are against the user's interests, which complicates things.

ng12 7y ago

I think this is a good analog for what Palantir does, actually. The thing to note is that Palantir is not in the data collection industry, or even the data storage industry. They are in the data analysis industry. One way or another California cops are going to build or buy tools that allow them to access their data, it might as well be from a company like Palantir which is security-minded.

headUpUR_ASS 7y ago

Seat belts, air bags, bumpers, crumple zones, defoggers, windshield wipers, and on and on. We have laws that require a basic level of safety for these potentially dangerous machines. I’d like to introduce you to a mind-blowing concept vehicle: The Motorcycle. Anyone over the age of 17 can ride one. They have no seat belts, windshields or bumpers, and they carry high rates of fatalities relative to the accidents that involve them, when compared to all other vehicles on public roads. You are free to choose them over ordinary automobiles at your option in most countries. Many vehicles are street legal, but not sold by commercial dealers, and still find their way onto public roads. People find ways around the implicit suggestions pushed upon any given market place. The market doesn’t always offer the best choices, but flexibility is a good thing. Anyway, this is really about over-funded, near miltary yet still “civilian” law enforcement operations cutting across every jurisdiction to do whatever a handful of unelected people think ought to happen and carry the leverage to push their whims anywhere they want, simply because there’s no realistic counter to their privatized intent. Think tanks sit around and muse about this and that, and then private militaries come out of the woodwork to advise federal employees about... whatever they want. It’s going to keep happening. And unless you’re a billionaire, you don’t even have a seat at the table.