Well Thiel did name his company after an artifact of evil in the LOTR universe.
I love Tolkien but using his name in political discussions is pointless. He was basically an anarchist whose views wouldn't support any major active political faction today.
I think he is more than aware of the fact that he’s the villain in this story. The kool-aid drinking employees of his portfolio companies on the other hand are a different story…
He named his data company after the seeing stones that are almost exclusively associated with the Eye of Sauron. I get the impression he doesn't much care if people see him as a villain.
Some people read a story like LotR and think, “If I were Sauron, I would do such and such, and I would’ve won.” A few of these people have the means to actually live out that scenario.
The movies didn't fully explore just how addictive and warping seeing stones could be.
In The Silmarillion the point was made that they misled users who were weak while allowing users who were strong to mislead others.
Objective unbiased use for the greater good of all, while possible, was extremely rare.
The stones were an unreliable guide to action, since what was not shown could be more important than what was selectively presented. A risk lay in the fact that users with sufficient power could choose what to show and what to conceal to other stones. \*
Which nails a great issue with the concentration of data and data interpretation in the hands of a self selected few.
