Palantir: Accused of Hegelian Contradictions
January 29, 2018
I bet you have not thought about Hegel since you took that required philosophy course in college. Well, Hegel and his “contradictions” are central to “WEF 2018: Davos, Data, Palantir and the Future of the Internet.”
I highlighted this passage from the essay:
Data is the route to security. Data is the route to oppression. Data is the route to individual ideation. Data is the route to the hive mind. Data is the route to civic wealth. Data is the route to civic collapse.
Thesis, antitheses, synthesis in action I surmise.
The near term objective is synthesis. I assume this is the “connecting the dots” approach to finding what one needs to know.
I learned:
The stakes for big data couldn’t be bigger.
Okay, a categorical in our fast changing, diverse economic and political climate. Be afraid seems to be the message.
Palantir’s point of operations in Davos is described in the write up as “a pimped up liquor store.” Helpful and highly suggestive too.
The conclusion of the essay warranted a big red circle:
So next time you hear the names Palantir or Alex Karp, stop what you’re doing and pay attention. The future – your future – is under discussion. Under construction. This little first draft of history of which you’ve made it to the end (congratulations and thanks) – the history of data – is of a future that will in time come to be seen for what it is: digital that truly matters.
Several observations:
- The author wants me to believe that Palantir is not a pal.
- The big data thing troubles the author because Palantir is one of the vendors providing next generation information access.
- The goal of making Palantir into something unique is best accomplished by invoking Fancy Dan ideas.
I would suggest that knowledge about companies like Gamma Group FinFisher, Shoghi, Trovicor, and some other interesting non US entities might put Palantir in perspective. Palantir has an operational focus; some of the other vendors perform different information services.
Palantir is an innovator, but it is part of a landscape of data intercept and analysis organizations. I could make a case that Palantir is capable but some companies in Europe and the East are actually more technologically advanced.
But these outfits were not at Davos. Why? That’s a good question. Perhaps they were too busy with their commercial and government work. My hunch is that a few of these outfits were indeed “there”, just not noticed by the expert who checked out the liquor store.
Stephen E Arnold, January 29, 2019
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