This article is independent of the ywtn series A-I Justice and The Illusion of Choice
from youarewithinthenorms.com, republished
NORMAN J CLEMENT RPH., DDS, NORMAN L. CLEMENT PHARM-TECH, MALACHI F. MACKANDAL PHARMD, BELINDA BROWN-PARKER, IN THE SPIRIT OF JOSEPH SOLVO ESQ., INC., SPIRIT OF REV. IN THE SPIRIT OF WALTER R. CLEMENT BS., MS, MBA. HARVEY JENKINS, MD, PH.D., IN THE SPIRIT OF C.T. VIVIAN, JELANI ZIMBABWE CLEMENT, BS., M.B.A., IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HON. PATRICE LUMUMBA, IN THE SPIRIT OF ERLIN CLEMENT SR., EVELYN J. CLEMENT, WALTER F. WRENN III., MD., JULIE KILLINGSWORTH, RENEE BLARE, RPH, DR. TERENCE SASAKI, MD LESLY POMPY MD., CHRISTOPHER RUSSO, MD., NANCY SEEFELDT, WILLIE GUINYARD BS., JOSEPH WEBSTER MD., MBA, BEVERLY C. PRINCE MD., FACS., NEIL ARNAND, MD., RICHARD KAUL, MD., IN THE SPIRIT OF LEROY BAYLOR, JAY K. JOSHI MD., MBA, AISHA GARDNER, ADRIENNE EDMUNDSON, ESTER HYATT PH.D., WALTER L. SMITH BS., IN THE SPIRIT OF BRAHM FISHER ESQ., MICHELE ALEXANDER MD., CUDJOE WILDING BS, MARTIN NJOKU, BS., RPH., IN THE SPIRIT OF DEBRA LYNN SHEPHERD, BERES E. MUSCHETT, STRATEGIC ADVISORS
This article introduces Ronald W. Chapman II, a lawyer and former Marine known for his expertise in persuasion and defense against federal charges, who is revisiting his concerns about Palantir Technologies.
Having used Palantir’s “heat maps” for predicting enemy movements in Afghanistan, Chapman became alarmedwhen the same company proposed using its counterinsurgency technology for detecting Medicare fraud.
He believes this transition from battlefield intelligence to healthcare scrutiny poses risks and is exploring this issue further, building on his previous writings about Palantir’s expansion into civilian applications.
An update from my 2018 Medscape Expose on Palantir and Healthcare Fraud
MAY 16, 2025
Before the 350% stock surge and the $1.3 billion in government contracts. Before the AI drone program known as Project Maven. Before tech oligarchs gained control of, well, everything.
Before it was turned on us.
I was serving as a Battalion Judge Advocate with 1/8 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. I was a Marine Corps Captain, father to a six-month-old with another child on the way. My duties revolved around rules of engagement (ROE), investigations, and detainee operations. Quickly, I had to learn to read—and trust—these digital “heat maps” churned out by Palantir.
Useful? Absolutely.
Every day, our intel Marines would input fresh intelligence: recent IED explosions, informant reports on insurgent movements, detainee photos, intercepted communications. Palantir would then illuminate patterns, predicting where the next strike was likely to occur.
Based on these insights, my battalion planned our patrols and convoys.
As the only Marine in my unit with a law degree and a deep appreciation for civil liberties, Palantir’s capacity for enabling civil rights abuses stood out to me immediately. We outsourced critical decisions to a proprietary algorithm.
When it worked, it unquestionably saved lives.
But you become addicted to that sense of “knowing the future,” even when it’s just sophisticated pattern recognition. We believed we were chasing the Taliban, at least.
Certainly a far cry from prescribing medications. Yet years later, when Palantir’s sales teams stormed government contracting offices bragging that their system could replicate its counterinsurgency successes in Medicare fraud detection, I was deeply alarmed.
So alarmed, in fact, that I wrote about it in a 2018 op-ed for Medscape.
How could a tool born from the adrenaline-driven battlefield of counterterrorism possibly handle something as nuanced as healthcare?
Apparently, not very well.
Since my original 2018 article highlighting Palantir’s expansion into Medicare fraud investigations, much has changed—mostly confirming my worst fears about the intrusive creep of big data into civilian life.
There’s a lot you don’t know about the predictive analytics company running our Government.
Until now, that is.
Chapman’s unique approach to persuasion is rooted in his deep understanding of human behavior and his ability to integrate timeless principles of logic and rhetoric with cutting-edge techniques in communication. His expertise empowers individuals to deliver messages that not only resonate but also foster genuine connections in a world overwhelmed by information.
Drawing on his courtroom triumphs, scholarly foundation, military experience with the United States Marine Corps, and passion for effective communication, Chapman offers readers the tools to make their ideas stick in a meaningful and fulfilling way.
Whether in the courtroom or through his writing, Chapman is dedicated to helping others navigate the complexities of modern persuasion with authenticity and skill.
ALL WATCHED OVER BY MACHINES OF LOVING GRACEBE SURE TO DONATE TO THE MARK IBSEN GOFUNDME DEFENSE FUND, WHERE THE SON ALWAYS RISES!!!
FOR NOW, YOU ARE WITHIN
THE NORMS
REFERENCE:
Who is Ronald W. Chapman II and what is his background?
Ronald W. Chapman II is a federal criminal defense attorney with a unique background that includes classical training in philosophy, rhetoric, and behavioral economics, combined with modern expertise in law and strategy. He holds a law degree and an LL.M. from Loyola University Chicago and has achieved significant success in high-stakes federal cases, including an extraordinary 139 federal counts acquitted. Before his legal career, Chapman served as a Marine Corps Captain and Battalion Judge Advocate in Afghanistan, gaining firsthand experience with Palantir’s technology in a battlefield context. This blend of military experience, legal expertise, and communication skills informs his perspective on issues like data analytics and government overreach.
What was Chapman’s initial experience with Palantir?
Chapman’s initial experience with Palantir occurred while serving as a Battalion Judge Advocate in Kajaki, Afghanistan. He was required to learn and trust the digital “heat maps” generated by Palantir. These maps were created by inputting battlefield intelligence, such as IED locations, insurgent movements, and intercepted communications. Palantir then used this data to identify patterns and predict potential enemy actions, helping the military plan patrols and convoys. While acknowledging the system’s usefulness and ability to save lives in this context, Chapman also immediately recognized its potential for enabling civil rights abuses due to the outsourcing of critical decisions to a proprietary algorithm.
What concerned Chapman about Palantir’s expansion into healthcare fraud detection?
Chapman became deeply alarmed when Palantir, a tool born from counterterrorism and battlefield operations, began marketing its system for use in Medicare fraud detection. He questioned how a system designed for identifying insurgent patterns could effectively handle the nuances of healthcare. His concern stemmed from the significant difference between the adrenaline-driven environment of counterterrorism and the complex, often delicate, nature of healthcare. He worried that applying a similar predictive analytics approach to civilian life, particularly in areas like healthcare, could lead to intrusive data collection and potential misidentification or targeting of individuals.
When did Chapman first publicly express his concerns about Palantir in healthcare?
Chapman first publicly expressed his concerns about Palantir’s expansion into Medicare fraud investigations in a 2018 op-ed published by Medscape. This earlier piece highlighted his initial alarm regarding the company’s shift from military applications to civilian ones, specifically in the context of healthcare fraud detection.
What has changed since Chapman’s 2018 article on Palantir?
Since Chapman’s 2018 Medscape article, much has changed regarding Palantir, primarily confirming his earlier fears. The company has experienced significant growth, including a substantial stock surge and billions in government contracts. Furthermore, Palantir’s technology, including applications like the AI drone program Project Maven, has become more deeply integrated into government operations. Chapman views these developments as an “intrusive creep of big data into civilian life” and believes that the technology, initially used for counterterrorism, has increasingly been “turned on us.”
How does Chapman describe the effect of using Palantir in a military setting?
In a military setting, Chapman describes Palantir as “Useful? Absolutely.” He acknowledges that the system, by providing predictive insights based on battlefield intelligence, “unquestionably saved lives” by informing patrol and convoy planning. However, he also notes a potential negative effect: “you become addicted to that sense of ‘knowing the future,’ even when it’s just sophisticated pattern recognition.” This suggests a reliance on the algorithm that might overshadow human judgment or a full understanding of the underlying data.
What is the core concern Chapman highlights about relying on Palantir’s algorithms?
A core concern Chapman highlights is the outsourcing of “critical decisions to a proprietary algorithm.” This raises questions about accountability, transparency, and the potential for the algorithm’s biases or limitations to lead to incorrect or unfair outcomes. While acknowledging the effectiveness of the system in certain contexts, he emphasizes the potential for such reliance to enable civil rights abuses, particularly when the technology is applied to civilian populations and sensitive areas like healthcare.
What makes Chapman’s perspective on Palantir unique or noteworthy?
Chapman’s perspective is particularly noteworthy due to his unique blend of direct military experience using Palantir in a high-stakes environment and his subsequent career as a federal criminal defense attorney with expertise in civil liberties and the legal system. This combination allows him to speak from both a user’s standpoint on the battlefield and a legal expert’s viewpoint on the potential for misuse and impact on civil rights when the technology is applied to civilian contexts like healthcare fraud detection. His background in rhetoric and persuasion also positions him to effectively communicate these complex concerns to a wider audience.
