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A number of Microsoft employees have asked the company to cancel a $ 480 million contract to supply equipment to the US military. A petition signed by 94 employees called on the company to stop developing all weapons technologies.
The organized movement in which three Microsoft employees spoke to Reuters was the latest example of a technology workers' protest to collaborate with governments on emerging technologies.
In November, Microsoft won a contract to provide the military with at least 2,500 augmented reality camera prototypes digitally displaying contextual information to users. The government said it would use these devices in combat and in training to improve the "lethargy, movement and awareness of the soldiers" by the soldiers.
"We did not go into society to develop weapons and demand that we have a word on how to use our work," said the workers in a petition addressed to Microsoft executives and published Friday on Twitter. The staff called on the company to develop a "public policy of use" technology and to set up an external review committee to implement it.
In a statement, Microsoft said in its statement that he had always welcomed the views of his employees, but said that in October, the company's chairman, Brad Smith, said that he was not the only one in the company. it would remain committed to assisting the armed forces and supporting any law guaranteeing the responsible use of new technologies.
The US military has not commented on it until here.
A few hours after the deposit, Microsoft shares fell seven cents to 110.90 dollars.
Last year, a similar initiative by Alfabet employees led the company's announcement not to renew its contract with the Pentagon to use artificial intelligence technology of the company to analyze the images captured by the aircraft.
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