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David A. Grogan | CNBC
Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft, will speak at the 2017 Cambridge Cyber Summit on October 4, 2017.
The contract between Microsoft and the army has sparked controversy. In February, about 100 Microsoft employees wrote an open letter to General Manager Satya Nadella asking the company to cancel the IVAS contract.
"We are alarmed by the fact that Microsoft is employing to provide military technology to the US military, thus helping the government of a country to" increase lethality "with the help of tools we have designed, "says the letter. "We did not register to develop weapons and we ask for our opinion on how our work is used."
However, McCarthy has pleaded for the association of Microsoft and other US technology companies, even if some of their employees are not comfortable with this work.
"We have the responsibility to communicate with these companies, but we need the best of American companies, we want their help and we need their help," McCarthy said.
Just before Microsoft wins the contract with the military, Microsoft president Brad Smith explained in a blog post that the company "will be engaged" with the military.
"We want the citizens of this country, and especially those who serve it, to know that at Microsoft we have our backs, "said Smith," they will have access to the best technology we create. "
McCarthy also explained a little more about how the army uses the word "lethality," which was a point of objection in the letter.
"We use the word" lethality ", but if you look at this system, it improves the situational awareness and allows you to better fight against discrimination against targets," said the undersecretary. This means that soldiers can use IVAS to make sure they kill only the enemy, not the civilians.
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