Love in the time of Palantir

0:00This message comes from Whole Foods Market. Their September Stock Up event makes it easy to load your pantry and freezer with flavorful, nourishing food. Their Build Your Own Family meal feeds four for just$35. Stock Up at Whole Foods Market. This is Planet Money from NPR. A few weeks ago, there was an ad on Instagram for an event in New York called Singles Dating Matching Using Palantir Data. The ad went on to explain that if you bought a ticket, you could come, maybe find, love, using the same technology that tracked down Osama bin Laden. The evening promised data analysis and pattern matching!

0:43To be clear, Palantir is a company known for working with ICE and the Department of Defense, and it is rumored to have helped track down bin Laden, although that has never been confirmed. Needless to say, Palantir, not known for making love matches. Now, look, this event is clearly at least a little bit of a joke, but we wanted to see who would show up. Can I ask why you guys came tonight? We both work in tech, and we're critical of tech, but also wanted to see how we might be optimized for love. Are you actually looking to meet anybody? I mean, if it happens, it happens. Are you nervous? Like on a 1 to 10, maybe like a 4?

1:26Zaza Swang, Alejandro Ojeda Olarte, and Lina Rojas were some of the 60 or so people who bought a$20 ticket to this event. Most had given the organizer their name and their phone number. So the question was, what data could be pulled about them with just that info? Zach Young and Latifa Alibi weren't sure. I want to see what my file holds. And I was maybe teased that they found a lot about me. I really don't have a ton to hide or I'm scared of. Famous last words, I guess. Palantir is a company that makes software in order to analyze data. And there is this public perception of Palantir as a monolithic panopticon company watching all of us all the time.

2:12And so a lot of people came to this event just trying to figure out what is the truth about Palantir, including Latifa. If they're really going to show the data Palantir and like Flock cameras have, it's also a good like privacy awareness event, right? Like you should know what everybody else knows about you. Another attendee, Jeannie Chan, she was concerned about her secrets being found in all the data. But she had also found a way to maintain some privacy. What data are you worried about them knowing about you? Um... Ooh, that's a good one. I'm afraid to say. But there's something on the internet that you're like, I hope they don't find that.

2:50I'm sure there is, yes. How much faith do you have in their accuracy? I hope not great, but also my name is pretty common as well. So when you search your name, you'll find like a whole bunch of different people. A lot, yes. I actually even have a doppelganger who does my job, my role living in New York. So I hope they find that one. Talking to the people here, everyone's got a lot of questions about data surveillance these days. And it is clear that Palantir is this company that looms large in our collective psyche. But most people don't have a real sense of what they're actually doing. So the event organizer wanted to show the power of what is possible.

3:28He combed the data out there, pulled info about the attendees, and compiled dating profiles and some potential matches. We are just about ready to get started and give you your match. You're not going to find it. We're going to give it to you. So step on over this way, down the hall to the right. You're matching weights. Come on in.

3:51Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Amanda Aronchik. Today on the show, we're taking you to a singles event to learn about the company Palantir. Of course, what better way? To a lot of people, Palantir is a mystery. What do they know? What data do they have? And what do they do with it all? We will dig into that mystery and our event goers attempt to find love in the data.

4:39from BetterHelp. Imagine carrying a backpack every day. Inside it, every conversation, every mistake, every expectation. It is easy not to notice how heavy it is until someone asks if you want to put it down. Sometimes feeling better starts exactly like that. Better isn't one size fits all. Better is personal. It's therapy tailored to the individual to help lighten what you carry. Match with a therapist who truly understands. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR. James Steinberg, the organizer of this Palantir-inspired dating night, has put together a bunch of random tech events over the years. A lot of my events start with the pun or the joke.

5:22Like the upcoming Build a Happy Little Robot That Draws or Rehome a Crypto Bro, where people can pitch hobbies to bros who are trying to move on from crypto. I'm a tech guy throwing weird tech events that are somewhat comedic, somewhat tech, always a little weird. James is a real actual tech guy who has founded some startups and spent time working as a cybersecurity CTO. So he does know a lot about online privacy. Several months ago, he came up with this idea. This was too perfect. Palantir dating is too perfect. Now, we should say James is not using quote unquote data from Palantir. He's not using anything from Palantir.

6:02For James, this event is more of a dark joke, which initially no one thought was very funny. I talked to a lot of venues, and as soon as I said the word Palantir, they just were like, no. And I was like, but you realize I'm not, this is like a joke, it's satire. They're like, nope. So I was like, oh, maybe this is too much. Palantir has been in the news because of its contracts with ICE, because some of the things co-founders Alex Karp and Peter Thiel have said publicly, and also because it has been used in the wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Iran. It is known for shortening the kill chain. So the military has been using Palantir's tools to more quickly identify people it intends to kill.

6:43So it is not all that surprising that an event about Palantir and dating scared off a few venues, maybe some event goers as well. But recently, something has changed. People want to better understand what exactly Palantir is doing and what data they might have. I think when people hear the word Palantir, they think this is a company that owns all of the data. So do they own the data? Do they buy the data? Do they sell the data? They do not own the data. They do not buy the data. And they definitely don't sell the data. This is Mike Steinberger. He writes for The New York Times Magazine, and he recently published a book about Palantir.

7:21Mike started reporting on the company about seven years ago. Mike says that Palantir's mission was to work with government agencies like the CIA. They have succeeded, and they've worked with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, the Department of Defense, the FBI, the IRS, the Department of Justice, as well as foreign governments and countless businesses. And while there are times when one of Palantir's forward-deployed engineers, yes, that's what they call employees who go out in the field to work with clients, when these engineers are working closely with a government agency or a company, then they can see that organization's data.

7:56But apart from those instances, Palantir does not actually have access to the data. It is simply providing a tool that enables organizations to make better, faster use of their own data. Palantir makes software. They don't keep any data, and that is an intentional choice. They say that they care a lot about privacy. So much so that they have built in guardrails. Like, every time an action is performed on Palantir's platform, it is logged and there's a record of it. So what does this software that Palantir developed actually do? It basically takes messy data sets from all over an organization and makes them legible and useful.

8:37Here's an example. About 10 years ago, Palantir started working with the manufacturer Airbus. The relationship began because Airbus was having some production glitches with its A350 airplane. It was costing the company a lot of money because if you don't deliver planes on time, you're paying penalties to the airlines that have purchased them. A real problem. Palantir was brought in and the software was able to identify where things were breaking down very quickly. At times, Mike says, Airbus was missing their deadline to deliver a plane and it was taking them nearly a month to just figure out when and where something had gone wrong.

9:13They couldn't see the entire production line at once, and Airbus's planes were being assembled in eight different plants over four different countries. So they called in Palantir. Palantir just merged a very large amount of data very quickly and found the needles in the haystack, where things were breaking down. Palantir's software created a visual representation of the entire A350 production line for Airbus. It's kind of like a digital twin where the data gets updated in real time. Before Airbus started using Palantir software, it took almost a month to find and fix production glitches. After, they were able to cut that time down by a week.

9:53In some ways, what Palantir does is kind of workaday, maybe even boring. But basically, the big idea is that the answer to your company's thorniest issues can be found in the data if only you could see it. I want to ask you a question that I'm sure you get asked all the time, which is like, is Palantir software good for making love matches? I mean, it's possible. One of the distinguishing features of their software is that it is very flexible, very malleable, put to all sorts of purposes. And I suppose with their very talented engineers, they could make it a very useful way of trying to find a suitable life partner.

10:39Which brings us back to the main event, Dating Night. James, the event organizer, is now on stage addressing a crowd of about 60 people. Are you here for dating? Are you here for Palantir? Big data? Big dating? Cool. James is tall, blondish with a beard. He is wearing meta glasses to record the event. He's kind of giving nerdy host. He tells the crowd, no, he does not, nor has he ever worked for Palantir. Yes, he has some friends who work there and he's tried out the platform before, so he's familiar with it. But he is not in any way, shape or form actually using Palantir's software tonight. And no, they did not endorse this event.

11:24I don't know if you know, Palantir actually sent me an email to say, don't use the word Palantir and stop doing this type of thing. But yeah, at the moment they're just saying he sees and desist But there's a very good chance they could sue me I could lose everything There is a lot at stake But it would all be worth it if at least two people here have a spark So no pressure No pressure everybody, just find your soulmate James had spent the previous 50 hours taking everyone's phone number and their name And using methodologies inspired by Palantir to put together dating profiles on the people in the crowd.

12:01He's used data enrichment, basically taking one piece of data and enriching it with more data. He's used facial recognition software, reverse phone number lookup, bounty hunter databases. He's a licensed bounty hunter. Also court records, leaked data that's ended up on the dark web. You know, these are a bunch of tricks that he learned while he was working in cybersecurity. I've prepared some unusually specific facts about the audience. Is Becca here? Yes. Becca. Earlier this year, Becca, you went to Cleveland to see Jake and Jamie's beautiful wedding, right? Yeah. Becca gave part of a speech at a wedding.

12:39Do you think there was maybe too many Taylor Swift references? Yes. Becca says, though, that is not her fault. She didn't write it. The crowd is somewhat impressed, although these details are probably Google-able. There's also a more traditional dating event segment. Based on everyone's dating profiles, James has given everyone a number and a color. And James' co-host, comedian Neil Patel, calls up the first potential couple. I do want to call up Blue 17 and Entity Blue 80. Are you guys here? Two people, number 17 and number 80, stand up and approach the stage. All right, coming up. Okay, cool.

13:16Yes. Oh, yes. As they make their way, I imagine they are filled with that very specific kind of dread that comes from being pulled on stage at a live event. So far, they appear to be game. They sit down beside each other on stage, and there's a big screen behind them. Comedian Pete Bomber takes the mic. Let's give it up for Zach and Janie, huh? They're doing a weird thing. Zach, what is something that you look for in a significant other? It's a bit hard to hear, but Zach says, I like people who read. Jeannie, you reading much these days? Nope. All right. Let's just all go home. This is a waste.

13:59I can see the conversation's a little stilted. At this point, James decides to take control and starts to use the dating profiles that he's put together. He's madly typing on his phone. And random pieces of information about Jeannie start popping up on the screen. The first data point says Jeannie did something with the Ministry of Agriculture in Indonesia. Tell us about your experience in agriculture. Are you sure that's me? No. Jeannie, turns out, has never done anything with the Ministry of Agriculture in Indonesia. There may be mistakes. This was in the event description. Also, maybe Palantir knows something that you don't about yourself.

14:37Maybe one day you will do something with the Ministry of Agriculture in Indonesia. They then put up a couple of photos of Jeannie. Jeannie looks over her shoulder to see.

14:54Jeannie, who I spoke with before the show, did say that there is a woman with the same name as her and the same job who also lives in New York. So the real genie was going to be hard to find. But also, facial recognition software is notoriously bad at recognizing people of color. So that leads regularly to misidentifying people also seems kind of racist. The upshot is that genie has succeeded at keeping her privacy. James and the facial recognition software he used had an easier time with Zach, a tall white man with a beard and glasses. The hosts start reading from Zach's dossier. The dossier was created, again, with Palantir-inspired techniques, taking different data sources and connecting them to find surprising details.

15:42They project some of those details up on the big screen. Is Zach a machine learning engineer? Oh, are you a machine learning engineer? Uh, yeah. Yes, yes. Did he work for Nike? Yep. Let's go! Easy! They start with the easy stuff, almost definitely on his LinkedIn profile. But then the info gets more specific. Zach keeps looking over his shoulder at the screen behind him. Did Zach build an online tool for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign? Yeah. Did Zach march in an anti-ice demonstration? Yeah. Yeah, he did. How was your, did you do a week in Goa? I did do a week in Goa. Yeah, how was it? Zach told me he never posted anything about going to Goa or that anti-ice protest.

16:26So he was really thrown that James had found that out. And then James started sharing photos of Zach on the big screen. And this was when Zach got really unnerved. I called him up later to ask about the photos. There's a photo of me at a protest that was, you know, from just someone taking a photo of the crowd. And there was a photo of me, what looks like it was at a concert, I think by the band. and you could see me in like the third row back at the concert. Wait, by the band? What do you mean? The photo was taken from on the stage. Did you not know that those had been taken at all? At all. At all.

17:08Zach did not realize that just walking around in the world and being photographed was growing his digital footprint and that all of these details were so findable, especially with facial recognition technology. Everything put together created an eerily accurate picture of his life. I never thought of myself as like consenting to being searchable by my face. And like, oh, any photo that gets taken of me here is like part of my public record now. I think that's, I can't imagine it would be a very popular technology if more people knew that this was possible. Even though Zach works in AI, he hadn't known what was possible.

17:49The rest of the Palantir dating evening involved more potential couples getting pulled on stage and more dating profiles, which were hit or miss. Then, when it was over, everyone headed to the bar down the hall to mingle, flirt, and unpack what they'd just been through. After the break, we will dig in more to how Palantir is creating tools that the government can use to assemble files on millions of people. And did Palantir dating actually make any matches? Was there love to be found in the data? That's coming up.

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19:14Hey, it's Mike Danforth, executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Here's a great way to get the perks of being an NPR producer without doing any of the work. Join NPR+. With NPR +, you get extended interviews, inside looks at your favorite shows, and more. All while supporting NPR and never having to pull an all-nighter. Or if you work on one of the news shows, an all-morninger. Sign up at plus.npr.org. Now, I spoke with many of the people who came out for this weird dating event, and one of the reasons they gave for coming was that they did want to know more about Palantir. In particular, people wanted to know, what does the government know about individuals?

19:54Do they have files on Americans? And how is Palantir helping them? Mike Steinberger, the author of the book on Palantir, says yes. Palantir tools have been helping the government organize their data, and make files on people. This was a company that was founded in the aftermath of 9-11. At that time, the CIA and the FBI were dealing with the failure of not stopping 9-11, even though there had been a lot of intel warning them. Palantir's pitch to the CIA was that if data could be pulled from both agencies brought together, it might have been evident what was going to happen. Maybe they could help prevent future attacks.

20:34Around 2005, Palantir gets a contract with the CIA and embeds with some of their analysts. And they're building software that helps track and create files about people suspected of being involved with terrorism. In the past, the government's digital systems were perhaps lacking. Also, data was often intentionally siloed. And there were firewalls between government agencies to keep them from sharing too much data. This is largely because of some dark chapters in U.S. history. Think the 1940s when the U.S. Census Bureau gave over its data to the War Department so they could round up Japanese Americans and imprison them.

21:12Or during the Watergate scandal in the 1970s when President Nixon used FBI data to target his enemies. It was recognized that while this might have resulted in inefficiencies, what we didn't want was a master database of personal information on Americans because that was a scary prospect. The fear of a master database led to the Privacy Act of 1974, which basically said if the government is collecting data for one reason, like for filing taxes, it was not allowed to give that data to another government agency that wanted to use it for some other reason, not without consent. But last year, President Trump signed an executive order called Stopping Waste, Fraud and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos.

22:01This attempted to remove some of those firewalls. There was also a memo of understanding between ICE and the IRS, because ICE was trying to get taxpayer info. Things like that have made it possible for ICE to now access 30 to 40 different datasets. This is where Palantir software becomes very useful to the government. The government can use the software to enrich disparate datasets, find patterns and connections, and create much more detailed files about individual people and the networks that they're a part of. It appears that Palantir has been the technological backbone for a vast surveillance apparatus that ICE has been constructing.

22:46So does this mean, and this is why these people, many of these people came to this dating night, They were like, I believe that Palantir has created some dossier about me and it's got my driver's license and it's got my license plate and it's got my tax filings, my cell phone number, my location, my search habits, my buying things. Like, does that now exist? Well, it appears that ICE is collecting much more extensive information about some parts of the population that it has in the past. And it's not Palantir that has the information, but Palantir is making ICE's job easier. It used to take ICE hours to locate people, and they only got the person they were looking for a quarter of the time.

23:28But now, according to an article from 404 Media, with the help of Palantir's software, ICE can locate people in minutes. And this database apparently has 20 million names in it. That is substantially more than the estimated number of undocumented people currently living in the U.S. which means ICE presumably has files on people who are here legally or who are American citizens. People can sit here and say, well, you know, they're going after people who are here illegally, people who've been earmarked for deportation. Right, right. They're not going to, it's not going to bother me. Maybe that's true, but a lot of information is being pulled in.

24:07And, you know, I don't share the confidence that this won't be turned on other segments of the population. In some ways, this is the moment for Palantir's software. If an organization wants some data, that organization can scrape the whole internet. Plus, the government is de-siloing some of their data. And Palantir's software is very good at connecting these disparate sets of data and making sense of them. We reached out to Palantir, and they declined to be interviewed. But in response to critics in the past, they've said they are not working on any master surveillance database for the government.

24:44Although Mike says Palantir might not know what the government is doing with their software. Well, the problem has always been that Palantir doesn't ultimately control what its customers do with the technology. Right. It does not exercise that level of oversight. We also reached out to ICE and we didn't hear back.

25:11As of right now, September 2026, Palantir has not sued James or anyone involved in the Palantir dating event. So James went ahead, booked two more of these for the coming months. Zach, the guy who got on stage, for his part, he signed up because he thought it would be a funny way to spend a Friday night. And he says it was. He was also open to the possibility of matchmaking. I hope you don't mind me asking. It has been a week. Did you meet anyone you were at all interested in seeing again? Yes. No kidding. No kidding. That's exciting. Zach was a little shy about the details. I didn't want to pry too much.

25:52When are you guys going to get drinks? Tonight. Tonight? Yeah. Well, so this Palantir dating event did in fact create some, I don't want to say love, that's a little strong, but at least some dating matches. Yeah. I mean, again, like it was definitely a bit stressful, a bit uncomfortable. But having, you know, basically my resume read off on stage was kind of an advantage because people who were interested in me could just come up after. Right. Right. Right. I hadn't thought like you had a bit of an advantage, which was you were put up for display along with your resume. A little bit. OK, well, do me a favor.