Bezos of Amazon: the United States must be defended

Copyright of the image
Getty Images

Amazon will work enthusiastically with the US military, said its founder and general manager, Jeff Bezos.

His unequivocal stance comes as other companies, such as Google, have withdrawn from defense work after pressure from their employees.

"If the big tech companies turn their backs on the US Department of Defense, our country will be in trouble," Bezos said.

His company is bidding for a major contract with the US Department of Defense.

The Common Defense Infrastructure Project, dubbed Jedi, is a 10-year contract to offer cloud computing services, worth up to $ 10 billion ($ 7.6 billion). pounds sterling).

A number of technology companies were involved in promoting the work, angering employees, who protested through petitions and resignations.

"Big country"

But at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Wired Technology magazine, Mr. Bezos expressed his keen enthusiasm for Amazon to assume military duties.

"We will continue to support the DoD, and I think we should do it," he said.

"One of the tasks of the management team is to make the right decision, even if it is unpopular."

Copyright of the image
Getty Images

He then added, "This is a great country – it must be defended."

Last week, Google announced that it would not take its Jedi purchase offer, the project going against "AI principles" published earlier this year. to hurt or kill people.

At the same time, an open letter, allegedly written by Microsoft employees, was released on Monday. "Many Microsoft employees did not believe that what we were building should be used to wage war."

________

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

Do you have more information about this or any other technology story? You can reach Dave directly and securely via the encrypted email application. Report it: +1 (628) 400-7370