Microsoft Employees Protest HoloLens Contract With US Army

Microsoft's $480 million contract to supply HoloLens technology to the US Army appears to have triggered an internal employee protest.

"We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers, and we refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression," reads an open letter from the anonymous employees that began circulating on Friday.

The letter, titled "HoloLens for Good, Not War," was posted on Twitter and encourages other Microsoft employees to sign it. "We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used," the letter adds.

The US Army awarded the $480 million contract to Microsoft back in November with the goal of developing an augmented reality headset fitted with sensors and AI-powered tech that soldiers can wear for both training exercises and real missions.

"This platform will provide increased Lethality, Mobility and Situational Awareness," reads the US Army's original announcement for the project. "The Army requires innovative technological solutions to address current and future security threats."

However, the authors behind the letter say the contract goes too far to help the US Army. "While the company has previously licensed tech to the US Military, it has never crossed the line into weapons development. With this contract it does," the letter reads.

The letter goes on to claim Microsoft's HoloLens technology will end up turning warfare into a "video game," which will further distance soldiers from the grim reality of war. The Microsoft workers also take issue with the company's internal policies, which they argue don't do enough to bar it from weapons development.

"There are many engineers who contributed to HoloLens before this contract even existed," the letter adds. "These engineers have now lost their ability to make decisions about what they work on, instead finding themselves implicated as war profiteers."

In response to the letter, Microsoft told PCMag: "We always appreciate feedback from employees and have many avenues for employee voices to be heard."

The company addressed concerns about working with the US military back in October through a blog post and a Q&A session held with its own employees. "We believe in the strong defense of the United States and we want the people who defend it to have access to the nation's best technology, including from Microsoft," the company said at the time.

But in a statement to PCMag on Friday, Microsoft added: "We'll remain engaged as an active corporate citizen in addressing the important ethical and public policy issues relating to AI and the military."

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PCMag hasn't managed to confirm the identities of the letter's writers. But the document appears to mark the latest employee-led protest effort at a US tech giant. Last year, Google staffers also began circulating a letter calling on the search giant to end its involvement in a Pentagon project focused on using AI to analyze drone footage. Due to the employee backlash, Google eventually ditched the project.

Friday's letter, which is addressed to company CEO Satya Nadella and president Brad Smith, demands Microsoft not only cancel the US Army contract, but cease developing any weapon technologies in the future.

The authors behind the letter also want Microsoft to create an independent, external ethics review board to ensure the tech giant is in compliance with the no weapons development policy.

The organizers behind the letter have said so far more than 100 Microsoft employees have signed the document.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comment from Microsoft.