Several Microsoft Corp employees on Friday demanded that the company cancel a $480 million hardware contract with the US Army and stop developing "any and all weapons technologies." The organizing effort, described to Reuters by three Microsoft workers, offers the latest example in the last year of tech employees protesting cooperation with governments on emerging technologies.
Microsoft won a contract in November to supply the Army with at least 2,500 prototypes of augmented reality headsets, which digitally displays contextual information in front of a user's eyes. The government has said the devices would be used on the battlefield and in training to improve soldiers "lethality, mobility and situational awareness."
In a petition to Microsoft executives, posted on Twitter, workers said they "did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used." They called on the company to develop "a public-facing acceptable use policy" for its technology and an external review board to publicly enforce it.
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