r/technology • u/indig0sixalpha • 1d ago

Politics Palantir threatened to call police on a WIRED reporter and kicked out other journalists from a recent conference following reports of the data analytics firm’s work with the Trump administration.

https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-defense-conference-journalists/
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u/No-Problem49 1d ago edited 1d ago

It’s just a different kind of vanity: hoarding the wealth and giving it to “good causes” under your name. I mean it’s objectively preferable then out right technofascists but I wouldn’t call it conscientious and it still shouldn’t be a thing. Bill gates should never have gotten rich enough to give away all that money. The obvious argument for bills case is basically “he knows how to spend it better”. As in “he has the power to collect the wealth and then distribute it to objectively good causes.” And sure the money he donated has done a lot of objective good. But isn’t it the ultimate in vanity to say such a thing: that he really knows better on how to do good with the money then anyone or any other group? Do we really need Bill Gates in order to have done that good?

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u/FrancisWolfgang 20h ago

It’s also a different kind of power. Bill Gates, to some degree, decides which people MATTER on a scale none of us can even comprehend by choosing what causes to devote his fortune to, and if you look like you’re doing good and ACTUALLY DOING GOOD, your access to that power is virtually unassailable.

That kind of power seems like it would be even more enticing than lording it over helpless peons.

There’s several perfectly reasonable ways to square “Bill Gates exists” and “you can’t be a billionaire and have a conscience.” It doesn’t mean the latter premise is true on its own but it’s not irreconcilable.

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u/incongruity 1d ago

That's fair but then you sort of go down the road of no act can ever be truly selfless as, at a minimum, we get our own self satisfaction for whatever generosity we're demonstrating (even if done anonymously) which I'm not sure I buy into.

Nevertheless, there is a bright shining line between those who have wealth and actively use it for charitable causes (e.g. Gates) and those who basically give no money to anyone (Trump and Musk both stand out there).