Met Palantir row gets to heart of how public services should use AI

UK’s largest police force says Palantir is only company that can supply what it needs. Is that worth the controversy that comes with it?

• London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir

It’s bot vs bobby. The row over whether the controversial US AI company Palantir should be paid £50m to help the Metropolitan police hits to the heart of how public services will be delivered in the coming years.

A similar dynamic is playing out in hospitals, schools and town halls, but right now police chiefs are turning to AI to escape a fiscal bind. The UK’s largest police force is shrinking; a £125m funding shortfall means it faces cutting 1,150 posts. Scotland Yard wants to use AI to deploy Palantir’s systems to comb through human intelligence reports, email caches, phone records and the rest of the torrent of digital evidence trail left by 21st century crime.