Ginni Steps Up Speaking of business leaders who step up: IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, in her leadership role at the Business Roundtable, wrote a frank letter on Thursday demanding that Congress pass the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ individuals from a broad range of discrimination. "As employers, America's leading companies know that our economy works best when our employees can be who they are, without fear of bias, discrimination, or inequality—in the workplace or in their communities," wrote Rometty, who leads the Business Roundtable's education and workforce committee. Axios
PRECISION FARMING SOLUTIONS BIG BLUE EXPANDS ITS FARMING FOOTPRINT. IBM announced that it is developing a digital farming platform that will provide farm operators actionable recommendations to enhance crop yields. The technology pioneer will develop the platform in conjunction with Yara International, a Norwegian chemical company that specializes in agricultural products. The two companies are targeting a late 2019 product launch for the joint venture. The Armonk, New York-based company has already brought to market a blockchain-based food-tracking technology known as IBM Food Trust that seeks to bring more transparency to supply chains while enhancing food safety. The client list of IBM Food Trust includes Kroger, Unilever, and Walmart. Read more HERE.
Come get some patents. IBM said it would let coronavirus researchers access thousands of patents and patent applications for free with the promise that it would "not assert IBM patents against entities using them in the fight against coronaviruses." The move is part of the company's participation in the Open COVID Pledge, in which firms make their intellectual property free so that people can use the technologies to aid coronavirus research and treatments. "IBM’s pledge will last for the life of our more than 80,000 patents and patent applications, and any new patent applications filed through the end of 2023 will likewise be covered by this commitment." the company said.
Facial recognition IBM has taken the drastic step of scrapping its general-purpose facial recognition and analysis software products, in response to police brutality. CEO Arvind Krishna: "IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with our values and Principles of Trust and Transparency." Fortune