Paul Graham likened Palantir's ICE work to “infrastructure of the police state”; a Palantir exec said Paul's view is like Google's when it killed Project Maven
One of the founders of startup accelerator Y Combinator offered unsparing criticism this weekend …
TechCrunchAnthony Ha
Context & Ripple Effects
This dispute extends a long-running debate over Palantir’s relationship with national-security institutions. Earlier coverage described [[a:1160973|concerns from former military and intelligence officials about Palantir’s position and product approach]], while reporting from 2017 noted that pilot work with the NSA did not become a full contract.
Graham’s criticism brings that debate into the startup ecosystem: the immediate issue is not only Palantir’s government work, but whether builders and investors treat participation in enforcement and defense systems as a line to resist or a responsibility to accept.
First-order effects
Palantir faces a fresh reputational challenge among founders and technologists who may view ICE-related work as incompatible with their values.
By invoking Google’s Project Maven withdrawal, the Palantir executive recasts the criticism as a familiar dispute over whether technology companies should decline state-security work.
Second-order effects
The exchange sharpens the contrast between companies that make government and defense work central to their identity and those whose employees, users, or backers demand limits on such contracts.
Startup leaders and employees evaluating public-sector opportunities may face more explicit pressure to define acceptable customers and uses before controversy forces the question.
Third-order effects
If these disputes become a recurring test of company identity, government-facing AI and data-software vendors may differentiate less on neutrality and more on their stated willingness to serve state institutions.
The broader fault line is likely to persist: public criticism can raise the political and recruiting cost of state work without necessarily determining whether governments continue buying it.
The trend: This is one instance of technology firms being pushed to declare whether state-security contracts are a core market or an ethical boundary.
It's a very exciting time in tech right now. If you're a first-rate programmer, there are a huge number of other places you can go work rather than at the company building the infrastructure of the police state.
@MabreyTed As I said, I'll be happy to delete it if you commit publicly on behalf of Palantir not to build things that help the government violate the US constitution. Will you do that, Ted?
@paulg First, I really don't want you to delete this and am happy for it to be on the record. Second, the reason I'm not engaging in the question is because it's so obviously in bad faith akin to the “will you promise to stop beating your wife” court room parlor trick. Let's make
@davidu Where exactly is the sophistry in asking Palantir to commit not to help the government violate the constitution? It seems like a commitment any patriotic American would find easy to make. It's frankly worrying that the idea seems to cause them so much difficulty.
Now that America has shifted from left to right, we can see who was genuinely independent-minded, and who was merely on the right. Who has spoken out against both wokeness and authoritarianism?
Incidentally, I'll be happy to delete this if Palantir publicly commits never to build things that help the government violate the US constitution. And in particular never to build things that help the government violate anyone's (whether citizens or not) First Amendment rights.
@yacineMTB It's precisely because I want to live in a lawful world that I said this. One of the most important principles in American law is that the constitution takes precedence over the whims of the current administration.
@MabreyTed @paulg what is “this promise” referencing. your phrasing makes it feel like you are dodging while pretending you are satisfying the request. just say you guys won't help the government evade or undermine the Constitution of the United States of America. it's weird to b…
And if you were thinking of replying that the constitution only grants rights like free speech and due process to citizens, please do at least one minute of research first to learn why you're mistaken.
Here are some people who've passed the test: @Noahpinion, @NAChristakis, @billybinion, @sapinker, @nntaleb, @glukianoff, @McCormickProf, @mattyglesias, @ATabarrok, @cremieuxrecueil, @GarettJones, @nikitabier, @jessesingal, @AlecStapp, @glukianoff, @DKThomp.
@paulg What a slimy post, unworthy of you. Palantir is a great company, and was doing tech for intel and defense when no one else would. We need many more like it.
@paulg It is possible to be pro skilled immigration while also having enforcement that makes our society safe. San Francisco has hundreds of drug dealers who shouldn't be in the city, for instance.
@MabreyTed I applaud the will to attack the hard problems we must solve in order to make society better. But there's one important question: is Palantir helping this administration deport people on the basis of their speech? The answer must be no, otherwise I can't support you.
@paulg You know, I learned a ton from you when I was younger. Your lectures on startups are incredible. However, as someone who has spent the last 5 years studying Palantir *literally* everyday, your take on this is so absurd that it leads me to believe your ideology might the on…
@amitisinvesting In that case they should have no problem publicly promising not to build things to help the government violate the constitution, right? Unless you think wanting to obey the constitution is “ideology”?
@MabreyTed tough position for you with 5k followers to his 2M, and his dishonest style of debate is very popular right now as people succumb to partisanship. but if it means fewer people at your company with as much contempt for our nation as paul, it will be a good thing.