4 ms·

Well, IBM has had experience helping countries figure out who does and does not belong. Germany in the 30s comes to mind.

• kodfodrasz 10y ago
  Disclaimer: I do not know how much did IBM know about the events in the 1930s Germany, and more importantly: how much could have they predicted about future developments of their deals, or how much and what king of support did they give later on. You should also understand that where there is demand, supply will appear sooner or later. If you want to make business, you may want to grab some potentially problematic deals, as if you don't do, others will. After all, it is not you, doing anything bad, and you have to make profits after all. This may make deals potentially problematic in the future still desirable, sometimes simply to retain market share. Can a miner or an ironworker be held responsible for coal used to make gunpowder and iron used to make guns? If you take responsibility and blame too far from the actors and more importantly the commanders of disgraceful deeds, you may even find yourself guilty in things you would never agree with. I believe that unless very deeply entangled in those crimes, IBM should not be blamed for anything, if they abided the national and international laws, and acted in good will. (I have not examined this topic in detail, cannot express a more specific opinion about this.) Also I believe this topic is also a bit of storm in a teacup. Palantir did a job that others would have done if they didn't grab the opportunity, and it doesn't seem so hellish to me, just a reasonable tool for use by government agencies, to match the evolving threats a country faces in the 21st century. It seems to me that the anti-immigration spin is only attached to this tool because of recent policy changes and pretty divided opinions about them in the USA.
  • empath75 10y ago
    for further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust