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Ex FDE here. Part of Palantir's pitch for Foundry back in the day is connecting disparate databases from agencies that don't collaborate well. They're also real

Ex FDE here. Part of Palantir's pitch for Foundry back in the day is connecting disparate databases from agencies that don't collaborate well. They're also really good at getting demos up and running in a few days. The tech was good back when I was employed. They get hate because support war efforts / police / intelligence. They do 5 year contracts with the govt then bump the prices once they're sticky, like a J curve, hence the valuation.

jgalt212 1y ago
True, but government programs get cancelled all the time.
- hopelite 1y ago
  I am not sure what government you are thinking of, but not in the US government. There are some trimmings and some consolidation that may shift people and function in or under something else, but the programs, as generally defined by activities (because the nature of a “program” often morphs over time, even if everything else remains the same) basically never really get shut down anymore, if ever. There may be a loss of interest or focus, often related to technological changes causing an atrophy over time, but that usually also just leads to long tail existence that seems to mostly be defined by the duration of the career length of those involved and/or any kind of special interests that can maintain their nepotistic/corrupt advocacy. It is a function of the empire and the reserve currency status of it, i.e., the “infinite” money printing that causes profligacy that is also an existential threat because it distorts perceptions and reality, e.g., the belief that it does not matter and that no discipline in spending or budgeting is necessary, hence why America has essentially for 56 years now (ignoring the anomaly in 2001) not produced a balanced budget.
  - throwaway290 1y ago
    Didn't trump/doge just shut a ton of them?
    - thechao 1y ago
      Nothing that spends a lot of money on the scale of the Fed. Just low cost culture war stuff.
      - mkipper 1y ago
        That's what gets attention in the media, but the Trump administration has also been axing a lot of "traditional" programs. I used to work a defense contractor and still have some friends in that industry. One of them told me their project (related to some armored vehicle) was unceremoniously killed overnight a few months ago. As best they can tell it had nothing to do with cost, schedule, missed deliveries, etc -- it was just someone in the administration deciding they don't want to keep paying for it. They work for a very large contractor and apparently this happened to a whole bunch of projects / teams there.
  - jgalt212 1y ago
    During the Apollo project years, NASA's budget was over 4% of the federal spend. Now, on percentage basis, NASA's budget is 90% less than it was. Defense programs and spending is wildly variable over time.
throwawayoldie 1y ago
> They get hate because support war efforts / police / intelligence. Right. That's exactly why they get hate. So what's the problem with that?
- stephen_g 1y ago
  Sounds like the poster is saying we should also hate them for scamming everyone out of their country/state/municipality’s public money by jacking up the price of contracts once they hook them in?
  - throwawayoldie 1y ago
    OK, agreed, there's at least two good reasons.
dfxm12 1y ago
Yes. In practice, Palantir enables obfuscation of the "fruit of the poisonous tree". Enabling a parallel construction in a surveillance state should draw hate, as it weakens the fourth amendment.
- phendrenad2 1y ago
  The thing is, Palantir doesn't enable that, their software does. And if Palantir didn't exist, the government could simply create it. (Some will say that the government is too incompetent to write software, to which I point to the US Digital Service, and also point out that trusting hyperbole is always a bad idea). My point isn't that you shouldn't hate on Palantir, but that in doing so often the cause and effect get reversed in people's minds. They think that Palantir is the cause and eroded civil liberties is the result, when the opposite is true.
cyanydeez 1y ago
Oh, they also bought thw VP of the USA. no biggie, just fascism. Hate?

jgalt212 1y ago

True, but government programs get cancelled all the time.

hopelite 1y ago
I am not sure what government you are thinking of, but not in the US government. There are some trimmings and some consolidation that may shift people and function in or under something else, but the programs, as generally defined by activities (because the nature of a “program” often morphs over time, even if everything else remains the same) basically never really get shut down anymore, if ever. There may be a loss of interest or focus, often related to technological changes causing an atrophy over time, but that usually also just leads to long tail existence that seems to mostly be defined by the duration of the career length of those involved and/or any kind of special interests that can maintain their nepotistic/corrupt advocacy. It is a function of the empire and the reserve currency status of it, i.e., the “infinite” money printing that causes profligacy that is also an existential threat because it distorts perceptions and reality, e.g., the belief that it does not matter and that no discipline in spending or budgeting is necessary, hence why America has essentially for 56 years now (ignoring the anomaly in 2001) not produced a balanced budget.
- throwaway290 1y ago
  Didn't trump/doge just shut a ton of them?
  - thechao 1y ago
    Nothing that spends a lot of money on the scale of the Fed. Just low cost culture war stuff.
    - mkipper 1y ago
      That's what gets attention in the media, but the Trump administration has also been axing a lot of "traditional" programs. I used to work a defense contractor and still have some friends in that industry. One of them told me their project (related to some armored vehicle) was unceremoniously killed overnight a few months ago. As best they can tell it had nothing to do with cost, schedule, missed deliveries, etc -- it was just someone in the administration deciding they don't want to keep paying for it. They work for a very large contractor and apparently this happened to a whole bunch of projects / teams there.
- jgalt212 1y ago
  During the Apollo project years, NASA's budget was over 4% of the federal spend. Now, on percentage basis, NASA's budget is 90% less than it was. Defense programs and spending is wildly variable over time.

throwawayoldie 1y ago

> They get hate because support war efforts / police / intelligence. Right. That's exactly why they get hate. So what's the problem with that?

stephen_g 1y ago
Sounds like the poster is saying we should also hate them for scamming everyone out of their country/state/municipality’s public money by jacking up the price of contracts once they hook them in?
- throwawayoldie 1y ago
  OK, agreed, there's at least two good reasons.

dfxm12 1y ago

Yes. In practice, Palantir enables obfuscation of the "fruit of the poisonous tree". Enabling a parallel construction in a surveillance state should draw hate, as it weakens the fourth amendment.

phendrenad2 1y ago
The thing is, Palantir doesn't enable that, their software does. And if Palantir didn't exist, the government could simply create it. (Some will say that the government is too incompetent to write software, to which I point to the US Digital Service, and also point out that trusting hyperbole is always a bad idea). My point isn't that you shouldn't hate on Palantir, but that in doing so often the cause and effect get reversed in people's minds. They think that Palantir is the cause and eroded civil liberties is the result, when the opposite is true.

cyanydeez 1y ago

Oh, they also bought thw VP of the USA. no biggie, just fascism. Hate?