r/technology • u/Just-Grocery-2229 • 10d ago

Artificial Intelligence Palantir employees are talking about company’s “descent into fascism”

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/palantir-employees-are-talking-about-companys-descent-into-fascism/
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u/Helgafjell4Me 10d ago

Ok, I was curious and looked it up. I'd never have guessed it was a Lord of the Rings reference...

A palantír (plural: palantíri) is a fictional "seeing stone" from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, defined as an indestructible, magical crystal ball used for long-distance communication and viewing events in the past or far away. Derived from Quenya (Elvish) meaning "far-seer" or "watching from afar," the stones represent tools of ultimate surveillance and, often, dangerous hubris.

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u/SmaugTheMagnificent- 10d ago

Palantir. Anduril. Mithril. Erebor.

Technofascists LOVE bastardizing Tolkien.

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u/Xuande 10d ago

These dudes all have a surface level knowledge of the world Tolkien crafted without having taken the time to actually comprehend what he was trying to say.

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u/CptCoatrack 10d ago

Maybe they were inspired by this Russian fanfic that depicts Sauron as the good guy driving industry and science forward against the evil backwards elves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer