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A comment on Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude solar aircraft. Parent comment

Re:Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude so... by hermitcrab on Monday October 16, 2023 @01:05PM (#37902880)
The standard story arc for something like this is that it is pitched as a humanitarian/environmental technology, but it is the military that provide the money and that where it gets used. I'm not being overly judgemental - the good guys (e.g. Ukraine) need good military tech. But lets not kid ourselves.
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Re:Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude so... by nine_k on Monday October 16, 2023 @09:56PM (#37909465)
Basically any technology that makes any difference will have a military value, and will be used by the military.

One of the few things that are not obviously, if in any way at all, usable for any military purposes is targeted advertising. Whether it's used by the good guys more is an interesting topic.

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Re:Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude so... by keepamovin on Monday October 16, 2023 @11:56PM (#37910413)
That's not actually true about ad targeting. The tech used there is a big information warfare thing, which has major military applications
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Re:Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude so... by jeremyjacob on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @03:23AM (#37911648)
I receive targeted recruitment ads from the U.S. Army and Navy frequently. Targeted advertising appears to be a valuable tool in encouraging young people to join the military.
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Re:Launch HN: Radical (YC W23) – Autonomous high-altitude so... by hermitcrab on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @05:06AM (#37912332)
Bad actors are using ad tech to subvert democracy (cf Cambridge Analytica).
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