"Did not register to develop weapons"

Microsoft workers ask the company to terminate a US $ 480 million military contract to provide the US military with augmented reality (AR) headphones because it "does not want to become a profiteer of the war" .

In a letter posted on Twitter by Microsoft Workers 4 Good, a group claiming to be led by Microsoft workers, it is reported that Microsoft workers "have not signed up to develop weapons and are asking for their opinion on how of which our work is used. "

The controversy is about Microsoft HoloLens, a $ 3,000 back headset developed from a technology called Kinect, which was part of the technology giant's Xbox video game system.

In November, Microsoft won the Integrated Augmentation System (IVAS) contract with the US Department of the Army, whose stated goal is to "rapidly develop, test and manufacture a unique platform that soldiers can use to combat , repeat and practice to increase the lethality, mobility and situational awareness necessary to achieve an over-confrontation against our current and future adversaries, "says the letter.

"Microsoft intends to apply its HoloLens augmented reality technology for this purpose.While the company had already granted a technology license to the US military, it has never crossed the front line of the development of armaments, "he continues. "With this contract, that's the case."

On behalf of Microsoft workers, we are publishing an open letter to Brad Smith and Satya Nadella, calling for the cancellation of the IVAS contract and calling for stricter ethical rules.
If you are an employee of Microsoft, you can log in at the following address: https://t.co/958AhvIHO5. pic.twitter.com/uUZ5P4FJ7X

– Microsoft Workers 4 Good (@ MsWorkers4) February 22, 2019

Many engineers who worked on the construction of the technology thought "that it would be used to help architects and engineers build buildings and cars, teach people how to perform surgery or at work. piano, pushing the boundaries of the game and at the Mars Rover (RIP), "the application of HoloLens in the IVAS system is" designed to help people kill ".

"It will be deployed on the battlefield and will work by turning the war into a simulated" video game ", which will further remove the soldiers from the terrible stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed," warn Microsoft workers .

In addition to withdrawing from the major contract, workers have asked Microsoft to stop developing "all weapons technologies" and develop a policy clarifying this commitment.

They also ask the company to appoint an "independent external ethics review committee, with the power to enforce and publicly validate compliance with its acceptable use policy."

According to NBC, the open letter was posted on an internal bulletin board and distributed by email to the company's employees on Friday.

It is not known how many workers signed the letter, but the British newspaper The Guardian reported that no less than 50 employees signed the document Friday afternoon, citing an anonymous worker.

Meanwhile, the Microsoft Workers 4 Good Twitter account indicated that the letter reached 100 signatures on the first day.

"We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers and we refuse to create technology for war and oppression," say the employees in this letter. Microsoft employs nearly 135,000 people worldwide.

In a statement to Axios, a spokesman for Microsoft said the company was still "determined to provide our technology to the US Department of Defense, which includes the US military under this contract," despite the decline. "As we have also said, we will remain committed as a corporate citizen in the treatment of important ethical and public policy issues related to artificial intelligence and the army," he said. they said.

The group's letter reflects a broader trend among workers in large technology companies to come together to demand greater control over the way their work is used.

Employees of major technology companies, including Microsoft, Amazon and SalesForce, recently criticized the US company's leadership for its contract with the US agency for immigration and customs oversight.

Microsoft President Brad Smith defended the company's decision to work with the US military at the time, writing in a blog post, "We want the people of this country, and especially those who serve this country, know that at Microsoft we have their backs. "

He added that Microsoft would push for policies to ensure that technology is used in a "responsible and ethical" way.

The photo of July 17, 2014 in Redmond, Washington State, illustrates a building located on the campus of Microsoft Headquarters. Stephen Brashear / Getty