20190317 Mitarbeiter wehren sich gegen Rüstungsaufträge

17.03.2019 Mitarbeiter wehren sich gegen Rüstungsaufträge

Microsoft employees are demanding that a contract for work with the U.S. Army be dropped

A coalition of employees of the Microsoft Corporation have sent an open letter to both the CEO and the president/chief legal officer of Microsoft. Here are some highlights:

"We are alarmed that Microsoft is working to provide weapons technology to the U.S. Military, helping one country's government 'increase lethality' using tools we built. We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used."
"In November, Microsoft was awarded the $479 million Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) contract with the United States Department of the Army. The contract's stated objective is to 'rapidly develop, test, and manufacture a single platform that Soldiers can use to Fight, Rehearse, and Train that provides increased lethality, mobility, and situational awareness necessary to achieve overmatch against our current and future adversaries.'"
"While the company has previously licensed tech to the U.S. Military, it has never crossed the line into weapons development. With this contract, it does. The application of HoloLens within the IVAS system is designed to help people kill. It will be deployed on the battlefield, and works by turning warfare into a simulated 'video game,' further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed."
"Intent to harm is not an acceptable use of our technology. We demand that Microsoft:
- 1) Cancel the IVAS contract;
- 2) Cease developing any and all weapons technologies, and draft a public-facing acceptable use policy clarifying this commitment;
- 3) Appoint an independent, external ethics review board with the power to enforce and publicly validate compliance with its acceptable use policy."
". . . As employees and shareholders we do not want to become war profiteers. To that end, we believe that Microsoft must stop in its activities to empower the U.S. Army's ability to cause harm and violence."