[d1str0]

Who would you prefer filling the ranks at a company like Palantir?

1. People who are sympathetic to these concerns, and more likely to change thinking from within or whistleblow if needed.

2. Everyone left over who are pro police state and fascism?

OP’s post would only fill Palantir with the second group. This seems more dangerous than to fill it with a diverse crowd.

[afavour]

It’s not as if Palantir is a co-op or something. If you work there you’re working on the things the bosses want.

They’re not going to turn around and say “gosh, you’re right, the tech we’re making is going to enable a police state, I never thought!”. They know. They’re fine with it.

[ujkhsjkdhf234]

Nobody. A company like Palantir doesn't need to exist and people don't need to work for it.

[d1str0]

Does everyone in the country agree with this sentiment? I have a feeling people might still apply. :/

[etcet]

If 50% of engineers choose not to work for Palantir for ethical reasons, they have to hire from a reduced talent pool. The company will have to pay more for talented engineers but can probably still succeed. If 90%-99% of engineers refuse to work for them, they're going to have a much harder time of it.

[d1str0]

I would assume maybe 1% have read this tweet and maybe 20% would refuse to with them

[bbqfog]

Palantir is the police state. They are not redeemable, as they are fulfilling their original mission. I urge people to see what the founders say on X, chilling.

[croes]

But we need whistleblowers inside.

[bbqfog]

Palantir should simply not exist and the executives should be tried for war crimes.

[d1str0]

Ok, you’re right. Shut it down.

Should be rid of it by tomorrow then?

[spacemadness]

You think these tactics work at a company like Palantir? Or even most companies? That’s not how these power structures work. These companies tend to already filter for people who align with the built in politics and ethics of the product being produced.

[misnome]

Has (1) ever worked?

[derektank]

Edward Snowden didn't work for the NSA, he worked for Booz Allen Hamilton

[d1str0]

Is “worked” a pass/fail metric? Or just a way to improve a situation?

[ujkhsjkdhf234]

Has 1 ever in tech actually put a stop to harmful behavior?

[jmyeet]

I would encourage anyone to familiarize themselves with the "banality of evil" [1]. Interestingly, there's this quote that's very apropos today:

> “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule,” she also says, “is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced communist, but the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction no longer holds”

Anyway, the idea of this is "evil" is an accumulation of small, otherwise inocuous actions.

Consider the recent movie "Zone of Interest" that was set outside Auschwitz and never showed any of the atrocities. The whole point was that even on the steps of mass murder, life still appeared in many ways "normal" [2].

[1]: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/hannah-arendts-less...

[2]: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/18/the-zone-of-in...

[croes]

It’s like with the military.

A pacifist with a gun is likely to shoot.

So pacifists should join in great numbers.