Due to DOGE, control of our personal data is now held by one company, Palantir!
Palantir is a company that is keying on AI and as such (and with the power of our data now included) has soared in price in the stock market. The stock has triple in price over the past 2 months, from a price of 66.12 to 135.28.
This is certainly great for stock market investors, but what does this control of our personal data and use of AI mean to you and me.
AI Overview
Control of personal data by a single company can pose several risks and potential harms to individuals
.
Here's how:
1. Data Breaches and Identity Theft:
- Increased Risk: The more personal data a company holds, the more appealing a target it becomes for hackers.
- Consequences: If sensitive data like names, Social Security numbers, or credit card details are exposed, it can lead to fraud, identity theft, and other harmful consequences.
2. Predatory or Unfair Practices:
- Targeted Manipulation: Companies can use collected data to create detailed profiles and serve highly personalized, potentially harmful ads, like promoting predatory loans or targeting individuals with health-related vulnerabilities.
- Price Discrimination: Companies with extensive data may use it to personalize pricing based on individual preferences, potentially leading to unfair or opaque pricing strategies.
- Biased Outcomes: If data used for creating consumer scores reflects existing biases, it can result in discriminatory outcomes in areas like loan applications or job prospects.
3. Erosion of Privacy and Autonomy:
- Reduced Anonymity: Comprehensive data collection reduces individual anonymity and can lead to a feeling of being constantly monitored.
- Loss of Control: Users may be unaware of how their data is being used and sold, leading to a loss of control over their personal information.
- Invasive Inferences: Data brokers can use seemingly unrelated information to infer sensitive details about individuals, such as health conditions or sexual orientation, which can then be used for targeted manipulation or discriminatory practices.
4. Limited Competition and Innovation:
- Data Monopolies: When a few companies control vast amounts of data, it becomes difficult for competitors to enter the market or compete effectively, potentially stifling innovation.
- Suppressed Innovation: Emerging companies may struggle to obtain the data needed to develop new products or services, hindering technological progress.
5. Other Potential Harms:
- Intellectual Property Threats: Poor data management can lead to the accidental or malicious leaking of sensitive company data, affecting competitiveness.
- Political Targeting: Data can be used to target individuals with tailored political messages during election campaigns.
- Law Enforcement Access: Data brokers may sell personal data to government agencies and law enforcement, raising concerns about surveillance and lack of oversight.
In essence, a single company having extensive control over personal data raises concerns about security vulnerabilities, the potential for manipulation, a loss of individual autonomy, and a negative impact on market competition and innovation.
Having said that, Palantir is not a company that has a good and positive reputation:
Why don't people like Palantir?
As an example of the evil nature of Palantir's work, it appears that
Palantir has been working with the Israeli military in so-called 'targeted killings'. Reports have suggested such that these murders, probably in the thousands or tens of thousands, utilized social media information and cellphone tracking.
and from AI
AI Overview
Palantir, a data analytics company known for its software used by government agencies, is often criticized for privacy concerns, its reliance on public sector contracts, and its perceived connection to controversial figures and ideologies. Specifically, Palantir's software is used to analyze vast amounts of data, raising concerns about the potential for misuse and the erosion of privacy. Additionally, the company's reliance on government contracts, particularly with agencies like the CIA and FBI, has led to accusations of being a tool of surveillance and oppression.
What does that mean to you and me? Well, it means you can be targeted negatively, you can be prevented from getting benefits due to you, or even being accused unfairly of something. You are no longer in total control of your life but dependent on a company that you don't even know about or have any relationship with. In other words, you are now a puppet and not an owner of your privacy/information.
Here in Jon Stewart interviewing Carole Cadwalladr, who was doing the investigating on the company (as well as others benefiting from DOGE) and found reasons for taking these companies to court (where they were found to be guilty) but in the end, they avoided having to pay and she was the one that ended "paying the price"
This is all about our rights to freedom and to our personal information remaining private to "our choosing" and not to the choosing of others
