Partly Cloudy, 64°
During a recent job interview, a Palantir Technologies recruiter casually threw in a question about the ethics of murder, reports Jack Rosenblatt ‘19. In spite of his preparation for a phone interview with the tech consulting giant known for its shadowy police-state dealings, the senior recalled being fairly surprised by the nonchalant reference to homicide.
“We really hit it off discussing my software experience, what classes I had taken, and so on," Rosenblatt said. "But then this guy just spit out a question about my thoughts on ending a life. I thought I misheard him at first, but then he clarified with a chuckle that he was only talking about people who broke the law, and people who probably would according to Palantir’s algorithms.”
“I didn’t really know what to say,” Rosenblatt continued. “I sort of stammered, and then we moved on to other topics like my summer UTRA.”
“I had done a bunch of research on Palantir before the interview so I had felt prepared,” said Rosenblatt. "A question about project workflow? No sweat. A question on whether I could compromise my ideals and help Palantir sell personal data to governments? Easy peasy! Even so, the murder question really stumped me.”
As of press time, Rosenblatt had received an email informing him that he was “not an ideal fit” for the position and wishing him luck with the job search.
