They scanned 75,000 faces so you’d finally pay attention.
Massive Attack is turning surveillance back on the crowd. In their new live show, the trip-hop pioneers use custom facial recognition software to scan 75,000 concertgoers, projecting faces on screen with satirical labels like “unfinished books.”
The target? Palantir, the CIA-backed data giant co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel.
Frontman Robert Del Naja calls the company’s moral framing “pretty terrifying,” warning of its expansion from military “kill chain tech” used in Gaza to accessing British medical records.
Working with filmmaker Adam Curtis, the band simulates a Palantir “decision chain” interface, highlighting how the company powers the US military’s Maven software, recently blamed for bombing a girls’ school in Iran.
Del Naja says society needs a “much wider debate” before allowing such a politically charged company to capture infrastructure like the NHS and police databases.
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One on-screen quote from Thiel reads: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”
Massive Attack insists no real data is stored, but the message is unmistakable: watch the watchers.
