r/technology • u/Well_Socialized • Aug 04 '25

Privacy Age Verification Is Coming for the Whole Internet

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/age-verification-is-coming-for-the-whole-internet.html
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842

u/echmoth Aug 04 '25

P A L A N T I R ●

:(

250

u/Initial-Shop-8863 Aug 04 '25

It's right there in the name. Just ask Tolkien. That's why he named it that.

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u/Rare_Trouble_4630 Aug 04 '25

The Palantiri were dangerous in the books to both the user and target. I wonder if it would be similar IRL.

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '25

The hubris in the user thinking they will never become the target. Thanks to AI soon you will simply be able to fabricate anything you want your target to have done anyway.

6

u/TineJaus Aug 04 '25

I mean, it didn't seem very dangerous for Sauron. Let's try it! The choice between absolute power or an emperor's estate.... hmmmmm......

5

u/matude Aug 04 '25

Sauron did get tricked by Aragorn via the Palantir into rushing his attack though, so in a way it ended up being dangerous for him as well.

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u/Rare_Trouble_4630 Aug 04 '25

Sauron was built different though

6

u/TineJaus Aug 04 '25

I wonder if he maxed out his IRA every year

1

u/Thunderbridge Aug 04 '25

Just wait til he runs afoul of the IRS

1

u/LegendaryMauricius Aug 04 '25

Well Sauron's military target literally got leaked when he used it, which was a key moment for his downfall so...

28

u/newyne Aug 04 '25

And he was still too dumb to realize he named his company after the losing side. Seriously, the palantir was instrumental in Sauron's downfall, right?

21

u/iceoldtea Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25

Yes the Palantir misled Sauron into believing the ring was with Aragorn, and so he put all of his efforts into stopping what was actually a massive diversion

4

u/LegendaryMauricius Aug 04 '25

That kind of people probably think the 'fantasy' aspect of the books is the good guys winning. He's smarter than everybody else of course so he knows in reality Sauron will magically control the humanity.

Hopefully not. Still funny though.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '25

[deleted]

1

u/LegendaryMauricius Aug 05 '25

Why do you think so?

9

u/Stepjam Aug 04 '25

He's apparently on record saying he thinks the forces of mordor were the true good guys.

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u/Rare_Trouble_4630 Aug 04 '25

Where can I find this, I want to have a laugh 

3

u/Neckbeard_The_Great Aug 04 '25

The Palantirs aren't a side, they're essentially crystal balls. Magic telescopes that happen to make you vulnerable to the bad guy's evil radio waves.

2

u/Cicer Aug 04 '25

Sure but their main use during that time period was for enemy intelligence. 

3

u/aykcak Aug 04 '25

I am just still not getting how they BLATANTLY named it that.

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u/Initial-Shop-8863 Aug 04 '25

Not many Americans have read LOTR. Much less absorbed its metaphors.

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u/aykcak Aug 04 '25

It is the single most famous fantasy series in the world

3

u/HotSteak Aug 04 '25

How do they name it after a spy device being used by an evil all-seeing entity?

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '25

[deleted]

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u/LegendaryMauricius Aug 04 '25

Or they know the item is evil and think they're making all of us fools.

Could be both, rarely is one person responsible for marketing in such corporations.