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Trump Admin Tasks Palantir With Expanding US Surveillance State – zerohedge.com
The spectre of Artificial Intelligence has cast its shadow over humanity, haunting it with nightmares of a dystopian hellscape under the oppression of a technocratic elite which may be too formidable to ever defeat. The inherently exponential growth of AI means that nightmare is becoming a reality even more quickly than anticipated. Its advent brings with it fears over the erosion of social constructs fundamental to humanity. Among those fears is the deleterious impact the use of AI-powered technocratic systems in the hands of the government will have on civil liberties.
With the near certainty that AI integration will inevitably strengthen the iron-fisted grip government has over its people, the endgame of that technocratic revolution ultimately looks as if it will arrive at tyranny. The weight of that proverbial Sword Of Damocles hanging over the heads of Americans has become evermore apparent following a New York Times report that the Trump administration has tapped Palantir Technologies to use its AI platforms to facilitate the integration of databases across disparate federal agencies. In doing so, the federal government is poised to build a national database capable of wielding unparalleled surveillance powers over American citizens.
The NYT report states that Palantir’s influence within the Trump government will be enhanced by virtue of an Executive Order signed by the president in March which instructs government agencies to increase inter-agency data sharing to “eliminate information silos and streamline data collection across all agencies to increase government efficiency and save hard-earned taxpayer dollars.” Foundry, Palantir’s data integration and analytics platform already in use by the federal government will be further incorporated into even more agencies to achieve that goal.
The platform is already being used by at least 4 different federal agencies, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Education. According to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, use of that technology is not a new development as Palantir has had contracts with the federal government for over 14 years. Building on that history, Palantir has been on the receiving end of over $113 million in government spending since Trump has returned to the White House. The stake that the Trump administration has taken in the Peter Thiel-founded company is only set to increase following a $795 million contract Palantir was awarded by the Department of Defense 2 weeks ago. Palantir is also reportedly in negotiations for contracts with the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service to equip each of them with the AI tools at Foundry’s disposal.
And for some good reporting on this fright night:
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Tonight’s musical offering:
Dispatches from the Asylum 