Recently I came across an interesting publication on Big Tech facilitating the US government. In February the article Militarising Big Tech. The Rise of Silicon Valley’s Digital Defence Industry by Roberto J. González (also available as pdf) was published on the site of the Transnational Institute [1]. González’ introduction:

In the US, Big Tech and the Military are increasingly fused, brought together by finance, joint projects, research and infrastructure. Untying the knot will be key to prevent endless wars abroad and militarised policing at home.

Ukraine as testing ground
A recent article in the Dutch newspaper NRC, How the war in Ukraine is also a military testing ground for the United States [2] shows that artificial intelligence, under the name ‘Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance’ (ISR), is intensely used in the Ukraine war. The article is based on information obtained by media organisation OCCRP.

Palantir
According to the NRC article Palantir is one of the Big Tech companies involved in the use of artificial intelligence in the war. Read the article ‘Palantir is not our friend‘ by Sophie in ’t Veld, member of the European Parliament:

One company that (…) should be kept out of our private lives and our European institutions — is US-based tech firm Palantir. It is one of Silicon Valley’s most controversial private technology firms, specialising in providing big data analytics software to government and corporate entities alike. Palantir’s fingerprints were all over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which prompted the #deletefacebook movement. (…) More importantly, Palantir is not only helping notorious immigration agency ICE deport immigrants, it also works for American security and intelligence agencies such as the NSA and CIA, aiding the former in spying on the whole world as Edward Snowden revealed.

Her plea to handle US tech companies with caution is more current than ever.

Notes

[1] The Transnational Institute (TNI) is an institute in Amsterdam that describes itself as an international research and advocacy institute committed to building a just, democratic and sustainable planet.

[2] Hoe de oorlog in Oekraïne ook een militaire proeftuin voor de Verenigde Staten is, Steven Derix and Hanneke Chin-A-Fo.

Addition 22 August 2023
Read also: China, U.S. Test Intelligent-Drone Swarms in Race for Military AI Dominance, WSJ. Intro in the WSJ newsletter:

China, U.S. test intelligent-drone swarms. The U.S. and China are accelerating research on how to integrate AI into their militaries as part of a global race to take advantage of the fast-developing technology, the WSJ’s Alastair Gale reports.
Around a third of all known contracts in the U.S. and China from an eight-month period in 2020 were for intelligent and autonomous vehicles, according to a recent study of AI-related military procurement records by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University.

Lessons from Ukraine. Ukraine has used drones with some autonomous capabilities to counter the Russian invasion, providing one of the first real-world testing grounds for AI-driven drone technology. “The U.S. military in particular is learning a great deal about the value of these technologies on the battlefield from the conflict in Ukraine,” said Margarita Konaev, deputy director of analysis at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology.