The relationship between microsoft and the United States Department of Defense is narrower than the vast majority imagine. However, in recent years the disenchantment of its own employees with the militarization of its developments has become evident. The case of IVAS, the mixed reality helmet based on HoloLens for the Army, is one of the most resonant, without a doubt. But now the company has come out at the crossroads of a couple of orders to investigate his military contracts.
In documents submitted to the SECMicrosoft’s board of directors rejected two proposals for independent reporting on his ties to the militia. But executives are now urging shareholders to make the same determination, considering they will have the final say on the matter. The vote to approve or not the investigations will take place on December 13, during the annual meeting of shareholders.
One of the proposals was presented by Impact Investors and Boston Common Asset Management, while the other has been promoted by Harrington Investments. The first focuses on the concern generated by the involvement of the Redmond firm in IVAS and the program Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructureor JEDI.
The latter consisted of a $10 billion plan to create a cloud computing platform for the Department of Defense. Although the military contract was awarded to Microsoft in 2019, the initiative was withdrawn in 2021 due to an Amazon protest. The promoters of the independent reports expressed their fear that the company could become involved in violations of privacy and civil and human rights.
While the second proposal to further investigate Microsoft’s military contracts expresses concern about financial and reputational risks to which the firm is exposed when dealing with defense projects. What is notable about both requests is that they include testimonials from employees who disagree with the Redmond company being a military contractor.
Microsoft defends its military contracts tooth and nail
In rejecting both requests for independent reports on their military contracts, Microsoft’s board of directors used the same argument: that it does not believe it is in the best interests of “the company, shareholders and other interested parties”. In addition, the directors maintain that the best way to address concerns is not to limit the reach of their technology, but to interact permanently with national institutions.
“In a democratic country like the United States, where the military is accountable to civil authorities, we believe the best way to approach this is not to retain our technology, but to engage in discussions with the country’s institutions, including testimony before Congress. and engagement with the Executive Branch, and the military itself,” Microsoft says in its explanation.
About the discontent of your employees, the company was not unaware of its existence. However, he made it clear that his position is to maintain involvement in military contracts:
“We understand that some employees may have different points of view. We do not ask or expect everyone who works at Microsoft to support every position the company takes. We also respect the fact that some employees may not want to work on certain projects. We have a which ensures that people who have such concerns can raise them, and we work with them to the extent possible to address these concerns. We are transparent about our decision-making and will continue to have that dialogue.”
Microsoft, about its military contracts.
The anger of Microsoft employees about the militarization of their developments began to be made public in 2019, after the announcement of the IVAS project. To the point that they asked for the contract to be broken to develop mixed reality glasses based on HoloLens. “We were not hired to develop weapons, and we demand to be able to decide how our work is used,” they stated in a public letter.
However, those of Redmond turned a deaf ear. And it’s not too surprising. Let’s not forget that behind the helmet for the American military there is a contract for more than 20,000 million dollars. Although, so far, the initiative has proven to be quite problematic. According to a recent report, more than 80% of soldiers who used it have suffered from nausea, eyestrain and severe headaches.