I don't see why someone would need advanced technology in order to target civilians. Civilians are all over the place. They're hard to miss even if you try. I suppose the author would respond that the technology is being used to specifically target journalists but even that doesn't seem to be very useful when so many people have cell phones.

Historically technology that made weapons more precise has reduced civilian casualties. One might argue that Palantir's technology is not yet good enough to do that but it is being used as if it is (which I suspect is true) but my bet is that in the long run technology like theirs will be like a modern precision bomb as compared to WWII-style carpet bombing.