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Microsoft workers are calling on the giant tech company to cancel its nearly $480 million U.S. Army contract, saying the deal has "crossed the line" into weapons development by Microsoft for the first time. They say the use of the company's HoloLens augmented reality technology under the contract "is designed to help people kill."

 to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith, the workers also say the company is failing to inform its engineers "on the intent of the software they are building."


 is for what's called an Integrated Visual Augmentation System.


"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,' " the letter said. 

"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," the workers wrote. "We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used."

that the contract could eventually lead the military to buy more than 100,000 headsets from Microsoft. "The U.S. Army and the Israeli military have already used Microsoft's HoloLens devices in training, but plans for live combat would be a significant step forward," the report said.  

In October, Smith defended Microsoft's work with the military, writing in a company 

Friday's letter to Microsoft leaders is the latest instance of U.S. technology workers standing up to their companies over the companies' lines of business or policies.


Last year, Google workers protested the company's plans to create a 

 in China. And Google decided not to renew a contract with the Defense Department after workers resigned to protest a 

 involving artificial intelligence for drone footage analysis. 
Tech workers from Salesforce, Microsoft, Amazon and Google pressed their CEOs to 

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Business and Economic News

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Laura Sydell

Author

Avie Schneider

They say Microsoft's contract "crossed the line" into weapons development for the first time and that the company is failing to inform its engineers "on the intent of the software they are building."

Microsoft workers protest Army contract involving tech 'designed to help people kill'

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