Microsoft CEO Defends Supplying HoloLens Tech to US Army

Despite employee backlash, Microsoft's CEO doesn't appear to be backing away from supplying HoloLens technology to the US military.

"We made a principled decision that we're not going to withhold technology from institutions that we have elected in democracies to protect the freedoms we enjoy," Satya Nadella told CNN on Monday.

Nadella made the remarks after a group of company employees began circulating a letter on Friday demanding the software giant cancel a $480 million contract with the US Army, which will involve the HoloLens technology. The goal of the military contract is to create an augmented reality headset that soldiers can wear during combat missions.

"We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used," the letter from the Microsoft employees reads.

In the CNN interview, Nadella said his company began talking with employees about working with the US military back in October. At the time, the company told staffers, "all of us who live in this country depend on its strong defense."

On Monday, Nadella offered a similar message to CNN. "It's not about taking arbitrary action by a single company, it's not about 50 people or 100 people or even 100,000 people in a company," he said. "It's really about being a responsible corporate citizen in a democracy.

"We're also clear-eyed about the responsibilities we have as a corporate citizen on the unintended consequences of technology," he added. "We've done this with privacy, we've done this with cybersecurity, even calling for a Geneva Convention, and the same thing with AI and ethics."

But not everyone agrees with Nadella's approach. "Our demand has nothing to do with supporting the military or not, and everything to do with creating tools to harm others," a Microsoft employee behind Friday's protest letter told PCMag.

The $480 million contract with US Army calls for the company to help develop a technology platform that'll increase the "lethality, mobility, and situational awareness" of US soldiers on the field. The headset will come fitted with a heads-up display, thermal and low-light camera sensors, along with AI-powered tech.

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Organizers behind the protest letter say HoloLens employees were caught off guard when they learned Microsoft had been awarded the $480 million contract. Although employees have the option of switching away from projects they find objectionable, the protesting workers want Microsoft to adopt a strict policy that specifically bans weapons development.

"The petition has sparked a spirited internal discussion around ethical use of our technology," an author behind Friday's protest letter told PCMag. "Workers are demanding that our leadership terminate the contract."

So far, more than 200 employees have signed the internal letter. Microsoft currently has 131,000 workers.