Groups urge IBM not to use AI to help Trump deport immigrants

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly looking into ways to use machine learning technology and social media monitoring to identify people for visa denial–and to select people for deportation from the United States. After IBM attended the informational meeting, rights groups are concerned that the company might be considering getting involved with the program. While Reuters obtained an email from Christopher Padilla, IBM's vice president of government affairs, saying that IBM "would not work on any project that runs counter to our company's values, including our long-standing opposition to discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion," he also noted that it was "premature to speculate" whether IBM would pursue this business. To hopefully sway IBM from getting in bed with ICE, a coalition of rights groups, including 18 Million Rising and Center for Media Justice launched an online petition on Thursday urging IBM Corp to renounce the proposal entirely. If you sign it, you won't be alone.