German police expands use of Palantir surveillance software
Police and spy agencies are keen to combat criminality and terrorism
with artificial intelligence. But critics say the CIA-funded Palantir surveillance software enables "predictive policing."
The surveillance software called Gotham, developed by US company
Palantir, is billed as an all-rounder: gigantic amounts of data are
brought together at lightning speed.
It only takes a few seconds to satisfy a police officer's curiosity:
name, age, address, fines, criminal record. In combination with
selected cellphones and the contents of scanned social media channels,
a comprehensive profile of any person appears in an instant.
With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), the surveillance
program developed by the US technology company seems to make the
dreams of police and intelligence agencies come true.
Three of Germany's 16 federal states are already using Gotham:
Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. Baden-Wurttemberg is
planning to implement it soon.
However, according to privacy advocates and civil rights
organizations, it comes with a big problem: Along with those suspected
of a crime, it can also ensnare innocent people
....
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The software company owned by US billionaire Peter Thiel made its
software available to Bavaria in 2024; in Hesse, it has already been
in use since 2017. The entrepreneur with German roots and New Zealand citizenship has a reputation for pursuing authoritarian goals and
maintaining close contact with President Donald Trump and his
political circle. US intelligence agencies and the military have long
worked with the Gotham program.
https://www.dw.com/en/german-police-expands-use-of-palantir-surveillance-software/a-73497117
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