Palantir seeing 'unprecedented' demand for its military AI

Communism's entire thesis (which, frankly, I agree with) is that all historical conflict is class conflict. I have my disagreements, however, with (1) how much of a problem it is purported to be and (2) with both the theory and the implementation of the solutions offered.

To relate it solely to or even just directly with privatizing things in the US is not only not necessary, but misleading, especially given the near 1:1 relationship of the de facto world Putin operated in early in his career as compared to what is being exposed to the west about his government's operating style right now.

Russia doling out their biggest companies to their friends turning them into oligarchs was probably a predictable outcome in retrospect. The difference between Russia and the surroundings smaller states was that it was the power center of that entire part of Europe and beyond. That huge amount of backroom power structures (not to mention the KGB) were far larger and not things that were going to fade away easily. It was primed to turn into a pseudo mafia state without proper reforms... By the people themselves, not some foreign overlord (although good advisor's always helps). The responsibility is always ultimately going to rely on people caring internally, as we saw in Afghanistan/Iraq you can't externally prop up democratic/fair organizations without local buy in and local cultural adhesion. So it comes down to what Russia could/would do themselves.

I'm curious what the alternative would have been given Russia's sovereignty. The west not getting involved and pushing raw privatization and not pushing back during the power struggle by the communist factions... I guess it would be more like a modern extreme top-heavy state-capitalism.

So basically China? The oligarchs would have to do their deals via gov annoited monopolies, being run by princelings. Elite party members rather than Oligarchs.

Or maybe best case scenario some top heavy EU style country like Belgium (53%) / France (58%) . Finland (54%) / etc where >50% of GDP is via gov (Russia is currently 36%)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_governmen...

This is a popular Putinist talking point, and like all of his other propaganda vehicles untrue.

> You're upholding the beacon of the US to militantly right what it had a hand in creating in the first place.

translation: Russians have no agency.

What happned in Russia post USSR is entirely on Russians and Russian culture. You should show more respect to a people and arguably a civilization than painting them as chumps that do the bidding of foreigners to their own detriment. Russia is responsible for Russia's situations. Just like we are responsible for our (equally not optimal lately) situation over in US.

+I have no idea where you get your facts: Yeltsin wasn't "Putin's protege", Putin wasn't Yeltin's protege either. The mayor of St. Petersburg was Putin's patron and he (being powerful) apparently* brokered a deal for transition from Yeltin's clique to his own (and then Putin ran with it). Yeltsin promoted Putin because he got a deal for himself and his family after the transition. That does not make him Putin's protege.

As to the tanks, it's possible CIA called and suggested something. Is this America's fault that Russian politicians overnight turn from fire breathing communist to CIA lapdogs?

Is it really?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoly_Sobchak

* that's actually wrong. Sobchak was in exile in Paris at that time. So Putin's actual patrons in his rise may have been KGB all along.

There is the possibility that Thiel genuinely believes in such principles but voz_ would need a lot of evidence to convince the majority of the usual commentators.

I think he is the guiding hand behind the weaponization of social media on behalf of conservative/fascist interests.

My impression is that Thiel thinks (as do I - and as did, to a lesser extent possibly due to inability to envision mass media and administrative state, the Federalist Papers) that liberty is far, far more important than democracy. Given that it would be nice to have both, but then he would probably argue that the combination of constantly bribing the voters and the ratchet effect of the administrative state makes the increasingly direct democracy in the US a threat to liberty. He supports enlightenment principles, he just thinks the civic culture has degraded so far that the best bet to get them is to enforce them from above. It's not unprecedented - that is what Supreme Court was doing when it shut down things like FDR's price and wage fixing, segregated schools, and many more. Thiel wants to do the same kind of thing more, and I agree - wouldn't it be wonderful if a non-democratic, liberal (in the original sense) court could also throw away e.g. internment camps during WW2, instead of bowing to "democratic" pressure?

There's a risk here, obviously, but the tradeoff in my view is increasingly (and in Thiel's view, I assume, completely) on the side of taking a risk of having little less democracy in order to get more liberty.

Most of what I am stating comes from my own assumptions, based on the content I have consumed, since I am neither a soldier nor have been in a battlefield.

Then we'll use [the equivalent of] adversarial prompt injection against them and they'll be screwed.

The "not questioning" is literally the entire problem.

I do worry that hyping something as “ChatGPT-like” distorts better analysis, and makes political discussions about employing AI more opaque than they should be. Maybe the way I’m more left wing is that the profiteering angle worries me.

For over a decade, police departments have been partnering with Palantir (and other firms selling decision aides) to investigate and even arrest suspects, while provide little or no basis for that action, falling far short of the legal standard required. So far, local courts have routinely turned a blind eye, since the decision to detain or arrest is largely discretionary and may not lead to charges. Of course, those caught up in such naive sweeps rarely have access to competent councel, so they frequently plead guilty to charges floated by unscrupulous ADAs, despite the inadequate / compromised / fabricated chain of evidence they were threatened with. Since the case never goes to court, this lack of evidence and abuse of procedure is never revealed.

Companies like Palantir who depend upon hiding in the shadows need at least as much rigorous oversight as any organized criminal gang receives, perhaps more.