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Last week, Nieman Lab revealed that USA Today\u2018s parent company USA Today Co (formerly Gannett) was partnering with AI surveillance firm Palantir to monetize \u201cactionable intelligence\u201d on its audience.<\/p>\n
According to USA Today CEO Mike Reed, the goal is to \u201cbuild a common intelligence layer\u201d on reader data to \u201cmonetize those relationships faster and at much greater value.\u201d<\/p>\n
The largest newspaper\u2019s new partnership with the Peter Thiel-cofounded company, which has long been mired in controversy \u2014 from collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and being linked to US airstrikes that killed over 120 schoolchildren in Iran to its mercurial CEO, who has a long history of strange outbursts \u2014 has raised plenty of eyebrows.<\/p>\n
Workers represented by The News Guild, the country\u2019s largest communications and media labor union, including journalists at USA Today, were \u201cshocked\u201d by the news, according to a new statement, and are calling for the company to \u201cimmediately end its partnership with Palantir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile [Reed] championed this partnership as a way to drive revenue, we believe it threatens to undermine trust in our news outlets and raises serious questions about the data security of our readers,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have significant ethical issues with Palantir, whose artificial intelligence software has been used to advance widespread surveillance and power immigration crackdowns,\u201d the union wrote. \u201cNot only does partnering with Palantir, a major player in the news we cover, create an inherent conflict of interest, but it fails the journalists who have been assaulted and falsely arrested while covering immigration enforcement actions and protests.\u201d<\/p>\n
The News Guild accused USA Today Co of not disclosing details regarding the new partnership and raised concerns over how readers\u2019 personal information and data will be treated and protected.<\/p>\n
As a result, the union is calling for USA Today Co to \u201csteer clear\u201d in order to maintain journalistic integrity and maintain \u201cwith the kind of responsibility and skepticism that the nation\u2019s largest network of journalists should exhibit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union also called attention to the dire state of the news industry, with a major pivot to AI being cited to justify major layoffs at countless newspapers and publications.<\/p>\n
Even within Palantir\u2019s own ranks, employees are starting to speak up, with some starting to wonder whether \u201cthey\u2019re the bad guys,\u201d as Wired reported earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s reputation has taken such a major hit that even its major contract with the UK government\u2019s National Health Service is on shaky ground. Earlier this year, London mayor Sadiq Khan also blocked a Palantir contract with the city\u2019s Metropolitan police force, arguing the department \u201cdid not adequately demonstrate value for money for Londoners.\u201d<\/p>\n
More on Palantir: USA Today Partners With Palantir to Gain \u201cActionable Intelligence\u201d On Its Audiences<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a senior editor at Futurism, where I edit and write about NASA and the private space sector, as well as topics ranging from SETI and artificial intelligence to tech and medical policy.<\/p>\n