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> The capture of biometric data has become common in contexts of migration, where iris-scanning is a precondition to receiving humanitarian aid. In 2019, the Un
by mydriasis 3y ago
> The capture of biometric data has become common in contexts of migration, where iris-scanning is a precondition to receiving humanitarian aid. In 2019, the United Nations World Food Program partnered with the firm Palantir to optimize these operations, which today affect 160 million people in 120 countries.
Haha what in the hell
- blamazon 3y agoNot that crazy - corruption and malfeasance are primary risks to your effective yield when trying to distribute aid like that. Middle-men and middle-women inevitably appear, one to one authentication is one way to keep them away.
- Avshalom 3y agoOne to one authentication is a middleman.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- clivestaples 3y agoThis just moves the puck. No chance in hell this technology is not abused.
- 9021007 3y agoIt moves the puck… to the United Nations. I fail to see the problem here.
- pclmulqdq 3y agoThe United Nations might not be as clear of corruption as you might think. If you've spent any time in the global public health apparatus, you probably know how bad it is (this is my exposure to UN initiatives). I don't think public health is special, and I'm sure most of the other UN-sponsored global projects have also had to line a lot of pockets.
- JohnFen 3y agoThe problem is the "what", not the "who".
- clivestaples 3y agoThe problem as I see it is the consolidation of power. Add to that instant global enforcement along with the current state of surveillance, an elite group of people have an insane amount of control.
- gpvos 3y agoThe UN is not the most effective and corruption-free organization I know of.
- justinclift 3y ago> Middle-men and middle-women inevitably appear ... So, Palantir is the middle-er... person in this context?
- blamazon 3y agoSomething about 'the devil you know', I guess. Don't blame me, I'm not in charge of the world.
- abwizz 3y agobut i hope you can appreciate the ugliness of a situation were a shady for-profit org decides if you get someting to eat and is incentivised to err on the side of fraud-prevention
- veave 3y agoUnderdeveloped countries remain underdeveloped precisely because of widespread corruption. This kind of authentication is invasive but it makes sense in this context.
- manmal 3y agoIt kinda sounds like increasing from AES-128 to AES-256 as a mitigation when the actual threat is social engineering. So people need to provide retinal scans now - and how does that prevent thugs from robbing/coercing them shortly after?
- veave 3y agoThe problem being solved here is a single person taking an aid package several times for reselling. You can't solve everything, I guess?
- JCharante 3y agoThis makes sense and is a really cool application of the technology.
- piva00 3y agoIt doesn't solve the issue of organised crime in those countries rounding up multiple people to get their aid package under duress to resell.
- pstuart 3y agoIs the corruption by individuals greater than the corruption of the gangs running things?
- flskafdslaf 3y agoThe proposed solution ignores the $5 wrench attack.
- bannedbybros 3y ago
- macinjosh 3y ago[flagged]
- consumer451 3y agoI am finding it increasingly difficult to take the world seriously. What a joke.
- kouru225 3y agoThey need to know if you have honest eyes
- JohnFen 3y ago> United Nations World Food Program partnered with the firm Palantir Woah. Why in the world would they be willing to partner with Palantir? They're amongst the scummiest of scumbag companies.
- beepbooptheory 3y agoI agree but also feel like entities like the UN are pretty much the entire customer base for Palantir. Or at least, they're not a huge jump from, say, the DoD, whatever your beliefs about either are.
- JohnFen 3y ago> United Nations World Food Program I just assumed that, if nothing else, that program would want to avoid anything that reflects badly on them.
- rafram 3y agoDon’t worry! It runs on the blockchain and steals refugees’ biometric data, too: https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/04/12/143410/inside-the-jordan-refugee-camp-that-runs-on-blockchain/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/04/12/143410/inside-th...