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OP is hinting at the fact that Palantir supposedly does some fairly unscrupulous work for governments. Whether this is true or not isn't exactly 'known', but it

by moab 12y ago

OP is hinting at the fact that Palantir supposedly does some fairly unscrupulous work for governments. Whether this is true or not isn't exactly 'known', but it's been widely hinted and spread around the valley. Take it with a grain of salt though, some of my former TA's and people that I'd classify as highly ethical work there now, so if they're doing anything dirty they're hiding it from the engineers pretty well.

trhway 12y ago
>Whether this is true or not isn't exactly 'known' There are historic facts for that. Just google "palantir hbgary" and enjoy. >some of my former TA's and people that I'd classify as highly ethical work there now ethical people have been through history participating in evil things, especially in engineering roles. It is peculiar ability of human brain to not notice the dirty smell when it would be very inconvenient (to say the least) to notice it.
- moab 12y ago
  Yeah, I know about hbgary. They definitely have a tainted public perception - I just question the extent to which people seem to vilify them. Regarding ethics - absolutely. It's also harder to notice when you're being paid quite a bit. It's a pity our profession doesn't have some explicit oaths along the lines of the Hippocratic oath. While it wouldn't stop anyone out to willfully do evil, it might at least make our the average programmer a little more thoughtful regarding values and morals and how they apply to their livelihood.
  - confluence 12y ago
    > I just question the extent to which people seem to vilify them. The government needs software like Palantir. So I think they're on par with say Lockheed.
icpmacdo 12y ago
Cloud you be more specific to the content of the rumours about Palantir?
- moab 12y ago
  The hbgary stuff that trhway mentioned was what I was thinking of. It's sketchy, and the higher ups definitely don't seem to be above this sort of underhanded nonsense.

by moab 12y ago

trhway 12y ago

>Whether this is true or not isn't exactly 'known' There are historic facts for that. Just google "palantir hbgary" and enjoy. >some of my former TA's and people that I'd classify as highly ethical work there now ethical people have been through history participating in evil things, especially in engineering roles. It is peculiar ability of human brain to not notice the dirty smell when it would be very inconvenient (to say the least) to notice it.

moab 12y ago
Yeah, I know about hbgary. They definitely have a tainted public perception - I just question the extent to which people seem to vilify them. Regarding ethics - absolutely. It's also harder to notice when you're being paid quite a bit. It's a pity our profession doesn't have some explicit oaths along the lines of the Hippocratic oath. While it wouldn't stop anyone out to willfully do evil, it might at least make our the average programmer a little more thoughtful regarding values and morals and how they apply to their livelihood.
- confluence 12y ago
  > I just question the extent to which people seem to vilify them. The government needs software like Palantir. So I think they're on par with say Lockheed.

icpmacdo 12y ago

Cloud you be more specific to the content of the rumours about Palantir?

moab 12y ago
The hbgary stuff that trhway mentioned was what I was thinking of. It's sketchy, and the higher ups definitely don't seem to be above this sort of underhanded nonsense.