NATO Contracts Palantir for AI System to Support Battlefield Operations - 1

Image by Marek Studzinski, from Unsplash

NATO Contracts Palantir for AI System to Support Battlefield Operations

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

NATO has purchased a new artificial intelligence-powered system from Palantir Technologies, a US company known for its strong ties to the Pentagon.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • NATO bought an AI military system from U.S. tech firm Palantir.
  • The system uses machine learning and satellite data to identify battlefield targets.
  • MSS NATO will be operational within 30 days to aid NATO missions.

The system, called Maven Smart System NATO (MSS NATO), is expected to help NATO respond to global threats by improving intelligence gathering and battlefield awareness, as first reported by the Financial Times (FT).

The decision occurs at a time when European NATO members are becoming increasingly uncertain about the alliance’s future prospects. During his last term, Trump warned that the US might stop protecting NATO members unless they significantly increased their defense spending, as noted by the FT.

NATO says the new AI system will be ready to use within 30 days and was acquired in just six months — “one of the most expeditious in NATO’s history,” as reported by the FT.

MSS NATO is based on Palantir’s existing Maven technology, which has been used by the US military and in Ukraine. It combines satellite images with other battlefield data and uses AI to identify targets and speed up military decisions.

The FT reports that Palantir, chaired by Trump supporter Peter Thiel, has secured over $2.7 billion in US government contracts since 2009. Its stock has risen more than 300% in the last year, driven by demand for its AI systems in both military and commercial sectors.

The exact cost of NATO’s new system has not been disclosed, but it’s expected to be one of Palantir’s biggest defense deals this year.

X Faces Investigation For Using Europeans’ Data To Train AI - 2

Image by Heisenberg Media, from Flickr

X Faces Investigation For Using Europeans’ Data To Train AI

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched an official investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, over how it used Europeans’ personal data to train its artificial intelligence tool, Grok.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Ireland’s DPC is investigating X over AI training with EU user data.
  • X allegedly used public EU posts to train its Grok AI model.
  • Investigation checks if data was processed lawfully under GDPR.

In a statement, the DPC said it will examine “the processing of personal data comprised in publicly-accessible posts posted on the X social media platform by EU/EEA users, for the purposes of training generative artificial intelligence models,” as first reported by Reuters .

X has already faced multiple investigations across Europe. The DPC sued X last year because it wanted EU citizens to have the right to opt out of data use for AI training. X later agreed to stop such practices permanently, and the case was dropped .

Grok, developed by Musk’s AI startup xAI, powers features like the chatbot integrated into the X platform. he chatbot operating on the X platform runs on Grok technology which draws its training data from extensive language models (LLMs) that analyze vast amounts of text information including social media content and blog posts.

The DPC has been the main regulator for X in the EU since its European headquarters is located in Dublin. The Independent says that the regulator has the authority to fine companies up to €20 million or 4% of global revenue for serious violations. Reuters reports that in the past, it has fined big names like Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn, with total fines against Meta alone reaching nearly €3 billion.

Neither X nor Elon Musk has responded to the latest investigation. Musk, a close adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, has frequently criticized the EU’s tech regulations, describing them as burdensome and unfair, as noted by Reuters.