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Ehh...I get why tech people are suspect of Palantir but they're just disrupting other government contractors. And from my limited experience working with the g

Ehh...I get why tech people are suspect of Palantir but they're just disrupting other government contractors. And from my limited experience working with the government, they absolutely need / want / rely on having companies hold their hand as they insist on doing things the hard, slow, and very custom way.

tsss 5y ago
It doesn't take much to disrupt a fax machine.
- edgyquant 5y ago
  Doesn’t this apply to most startups though? The core technical problems aren’t “hard” it’s that the industry involve can’t adapt due to inertia of entrenched companies.
legerdemain 5y ago
Disrupting? Their stock price has dropped by two thirds from its peak. They're probably looking to find a buyer at this point, such as IBM itself, while the leadership uses them as a stock-printing machine to enrich themselves.
humaniania 5y ago
Because of Thiel's lack of ethics and his support for the political far right?
- dnautics 5y ago
  The company is like a perfect storm of bad actors from horseshoe theory; The actual day to day CEO of palantir is Marxist theorist.
  - meowface 5y ago
    >Karp has described himself as a socialist and a progressive, and said he voted for Hillary Clinton. In 2017, he was recorded during a Palantir company meeting claiming he turned down an invitation from President Trump, saying “I respect nothing about the dude.” >He has said that technology companies like Palantir have an obligation to support the U.S. military. He has defended Palantir's contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the controversy over family separations, saying that while separations are "a really tough, complex, jarring moral issue," he favors "a fair but rigorous immigration policy". He has said the U.S. government should have a strong hand in tech regulation and that western countries should dominate AI research. >Karp founded the London-based money management firm Caedmon Group. >In 2004, along with Peter Thiel (who had been a classmate at Stanford) and others, he co-founded Palantir as CEO. >He is described as a wellness fanatic who swims, skis cross country, practices Qigong meditation and martial arts, and keeps Tai Chi swords in his offices. He'd make for a good Silicon Valley or Black Mirror character.
Traster 5y ago
To be honest, my experience of private enterprise is that they insist on doing things hard, slow and very custom. Almost every problem that exists is distinct enough that you can argue it doesn't fit the existing COTS software. It's sometimes necesary to build something yourself, but no where near as often as it is done.
- Kye 5y ago
  Some might do it under the belief that it makes them more flexible later on, but going with off the shelf stuff means it's easier to find people to create and migrate to a custom system when or if it's needed.
- doctor_eval 5y ago
  If I remember correctly, John Ralston Saul made the point [0] that there is little observed difference in terms of the efficiency of decision making between large government and large corporations. My personal experience is that large organisations and government are barely distinguishable. This is often excused in the name of "risk mitigation" - but in my experience it's really just that there are more snouts in the money trough, and that politics is more important than success. The close ties between government and the largest organisations also invite a similar culture. The end result for both government and large enterprise is "hard, slow and very custom". (Of course, there are exceptions in both government and enterprise). [0] http://www.johnralstonsaul.com/non-fiction-books/the-unconscious-civilization/ http://www.johnralstonsaul.com/non-fiction-books/the-unconsc...
  - bambataa 5y ago
    This is been my anecdotal experience. In the UK, I note that politicians extolling the efficiency of the private sector rarely have any substantial experience in big companies.
    - Traster 5y ago
      They have plenty of experience being wined and dined by executives of big companies though.
romwell 5y ago
I feel like with this comment, the word "disrupting" has officially jumped shark and lost any and all meaning. Palantir isn't "disrupting" government contractors. It is a government contractor, țhe old-fashioned kind, at that, and nothing more. And people aren't suspect of Palantir. People dislike Palantir because its government contracts are shady and boring (they're all about efficiently tracking people), but they pretend to be a "saving the world with tech" startup with such enthusiasm you'd think they put the Kool-Aid into the water coolers. Unsurprisingly, XXI century Stasi trying to look hip to recruit the tech talent give off nothing but "how do you do, fellow kids" kind of vibes. Disclaimer: interviewed for Palantir. They thought I could be a fit. Must have not been using their own software to vet candidates back then.
hef19898 5y ago
If it was just government...

tsss 5y ago

It doesn't take much to disrupt a fax machine.

edgyquant 5y ago
Doesn’t this apply to most startups though? The core technical problems aren’t “hard” it’s that the industry involve can’t adapt due to inertia of entrenched companies.

legerdemain 5y ago

Disrupting? Their stock price has dropped by two thirds from its peak. They're probably looking to find a buyer at this point, such as IBM itself, while the leadership uses them as a stock-printing machine to enrich themselves.

humaniania 5y ago

Because of Thiel's lack of ethics and his support for the political far right?

dnautics 5y ago
The company is like a perfect storm of bad actors from horseshoe theory; The actual day to day CEO of palantir is Marxist theorist.
- meowface 5y ago
  >Karp has described himself as a socialist and a progressive, and said he voted for Hillary Clinton. In 2017, he was recorded during a Palantir company meeting claiming he turned down an invitation from President Trump, saying “I respect nothing about the dude.” >He has said that technology companies like Palantir have an obligation to support the U.S. military. He has defended Palantir's contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the controversy over family separations, saying that while separations are "a really tough, complex, jarring moral issue," he favors "a fair but rigorous immigration policy". He has said the U.S. government should have a strong hand in tech regulation and that western countries should dominate AI research. >Karp founded the London-based money management firm Caedmon Group. >In 2004, along with Peter Thiel (who had been a classmate at Stanford) and others, he co-founded Palantir as CEO. >He is described as a wellness fanatic who swims, skis cross country, practices Qigong meditation and martial arts, and keeps Tai Chi swords in his offices. He'd make for a good Silicon Valley or Black Mirror character.

Traster 5y ago

To be honest, my experience of private enterprise is that they insist on doing things hard, slow and very custom. Almost every problem that exists is distinct enough that you can argue it doesn't fit the existing COTS software. It's sometimes necesary to build something yourself, but no where near as often as it is done.

Kye 5y ago
Some might do it under the belief that it makes them more flexible later on, but going with off the shelf stuff means it's easier to find people to create and migrate to a custom system when or if it's needed.
doctor_eval 5y ago
If I remember correctly, John Ralston Saul made the point [0] that there is little observed difference in terms of the efficiency of decision making between large government and large corporations. My personal experience is that large organisations and government are barely distinguishable. This is often excused in the name of "risk mitigation" - but in my experience it's really just that there are more snouts in the money trough, and that politics is more important than success. The close ties between government and the largest organisations also invite a similar culture. The end result for both government and large enterprise is "hard, slow and very custom". (Of course, there are exceptions in both government and enterprise). [0] http://www.johnralstonsaul.com/non-fiction-books/the-unconscious-civilization/ http://www.johnralstonsaul.com/non-fiction-books/the-unconsc...
- bambataa 5y ago
  This is been my anecdotal experience. In the UK, I note that politicians extolling the efficiency of the private sector rarely have any substantial experience in big companies.
  - Traster 5y ago
    They have plenty of experience being wined and dined by executives of big companies though.

romwell 5y ago

I feel like with this comment, the word "disrupting" has officially jumped shark and lost any and all meaning. Palantir isn't "disrupting" government contractors. It is a government contractor, țhe old-fashioned kind, at that, and nothing more. And people aren't suspect of Palantir. People dislike Palantir because its government contracts are shady and boring (they're all about efficiently tracking people), but they pretend to be a "saving the world with tech" startup with such enthusiasm you'd think they put the Kool-Aid into the water coolers. Unsurprisingly, XXI century Stasi trying to look hip to recruit the tech talent give off nothing but "how do you do, fellow kids" kind of vibes. Disclaimer: interviewed for Palantir. They thought I could be a fit. Must have not been using their own software to vet candidates back then.

hef19898 5y ago

If it was just government...