Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump on Friday (US local time) praised software firm Palantir Technologies even as the Miami-based company’s stock plunged 14%, marking its worst week in a year.“Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has proven to have great war-fighting capabilities and equipment. Just ask our enemies!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The United States military is reportedly using Palantir Technologies’ AI-powered Maven Smart System to identify targets in the Middle East as part of Operation Epic Fury, which began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.According to a Reuters report in March, the Department of Defense issued a memo formally designating the Maven Smart System as an “official programme of record,” signalling its long-term integration across the American military.“Maven Smart System would provide commanders with the latest tools necessary to detect, deter, and dominate our adversaries in all domains,” the memo quoted Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg as saying, according to Reuters.The decision is expected to come into effect by the end of the current fiscal year, which concludes in September.
What is Palantir’s Maven Smart System?
- A Department of Defense initiative, Project Maven began as a drone-imagery labelling programme in April 2017.
- Formally known as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team, the AI system can rapidly analyse huge amounts of data from satellites, drones, radars, sensors and intelligence reports.
- The platform uses AI to automatically identify potential threats or targets, like enemy military vehicles, buildings, and weapons stockpiles.
- The software uses the Claude AI tool developed by Anthropic. However, its use could pose a potential complication for Palantir, as the Department of Defense has recently deemed Anthropic a “supply chain risk.”
- In recent years, Palantir has landed a growing stream of contracts with the US government, including a deal announced last summer with the army worth up to $10 billion.
- Those awards have helped double the company’s stock price in the past year, lifting its market value to nearly $360 billion.
Criticism
Analysts have warned that tools like Maven leave very little time for meaningful verification of the output they produce, raising the risk of incorrect targets being struck. If the AI gets it wrong, the human in the loop may not have the opportunity, or the information, to catch and rectify the error before it becomes irreparable.In the US Congress, senior Democrats have called for “greater scrutiny” of AI platforms. However, Palantir maintains its software does not make lethal decisions and humans remain responsible for selecting and approving targets.
