Microsoft wins $ 480MM contract to provide US weapon prototypes of augmented reality systems for combat missions

Microsoft Corp. won a $ 480 million contract for the supply of prototypes of augmented reality systems for combat and training missions, the gun announced. The contract, which could eventually lead to the purchase of more than 100,000 helmets, is intended to increase ltaly by improving the ability to detect, decide and commit to the enemy, according to a description of the government's program.

Augmented reality technology will provide troops with more and better information to make decisions. This new work is a continuation of our long-standing trust with the Defense Minister in this new field, "said a spokesperson for Microsoft in a statement.

American Tears and Israeli Tears have already used Microsoft HoloLens devices in their training, but the actual battle plans would be an important step forward.

HoloLens is one of the main consumer headphones, but there is still no large consumer market. a video for the European Patent Office this spring indicated that it had sold about 50,000 devices. This is about half the number that the weapon expects to buy through its augmented reality program, called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS).

With this contract, the Army immediately becomes one of Microsoft's largest consumers of Hololens. Of course, she expects her devices to differ from their mainstream counterparts in a few key ways. In a document launched during the business-to-business appeal, the Army said it wants to integrate night vision and thermal detection, measure vital signs such as breathing and availability, monitor concussions and offer protection. of hearing. She stated that the successful bidder would be expected to deliver 2,500 headsets within two years and demonstrate a large-scale production capability.

Employees increasingly want to distance themselves from the gun and the police

The contract was the subject of an invitation to tender to encourage the Army to deal with companies that are not traditional defense contractors. Magic Leap, which is HoloLens' main competitor for the consumer market, also bid. At the beginning of August, the Weapon held meetings with 25 interested companies to participate in one way or another, including Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co.

The cooperation of the tech industry with US tear and law enforcement has become increasingly tense over the past year, employees of Alphabet Inc. (parent company of Google) and Amazon.com Inc., opposing the contracts with the government (the first with the military, the second with the forces of order) ..

Earlier this year, hundreds of Microsoft workers signed a petition criticizing the pass contract with the US Immigration and Customs Service, which originally indicated that Microsoft included some of its artificial intelligence software. In October, a blog post allegedly written by Microsoft employees urged the company not to bid for a multi-billion dollar cloud computing deal. Many Microsoft employees do not believe that what we build should be used to make war, they wrote.

In late October, Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft, announced that the company would continue to sell software tear American. Smith wrote that employees with ethical scruples with projects would be allowed to change jobs within the company.

The words of the head of legal affairs

Envoy by Brad Smith

First of all, we believe in strong US defense and we want the people who defend them to have access to the best technology in the country, including that of Microsoft.

Next, we welcome the important new ethical and political issues that artificial intelligence creates for weapons and war. We want to use our knowledge and voice as a corporate citizen to address them responsibly as part of the country's civic and democratic processes.

And finally, we understand that some of our employees may have different points of view. We do not ask and do not expect people working at Microsoft who support every position taken by the company. We also respect the fact that some employees work or are citizens of other countries and may not want to work on certain projects. As always, if our employees want to work on a different project or team – for whatever reason – we want them to know that we support the mobilization of talent. Given our size and the diversity of our products, we often have vacancies across the company and we want employees to look for the work they want to do, including with the help of the Microsoft Human Resources team.

As these are complex issues, we want to provide our employees (and the public) with additional context and part of our thinking in more detail.

For starters, we worked with the US Department of Defense (DOD) on a reliable and long-standing basis for four decades. You'll find Microsoft technology in the US teardown system, which helps power its front office, field operations, bases, ships, planes and training facilities. We are proud of this relationship, as well as the many veterans we employ.

[…]

Artificial intelligence, reality is rising and other technologies are raising new and critically important issues, including the ability of weapons to act autonomously. After discussing these issues with governments, we realized that no weapon in the world would waken to discover that machines had triggered a war. But we can not expect these new developments to be well-judged if technology players who know the technology better get out of the conversation.

We also believe that it is important for all players in the technology sector to recognize that ethical issues are not new in tears. The libations on wars go back literally to the millins, notably Cicron and ancient Rome. New technologies have created significant ethical and political problems for the United States since the mid-nineteenth century. The American weapon is about problems such as chemical weapons, biological weapons, nuclear weapons and, more recently, cyber weapons. Public policies and laws that govern the use of weapons technology have been vital not only for our country but for the world.

[…]

But, considering American tear, Microsoft will be committed.

Sources: Microsoft, Bloomberg

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