«Breaking News» Microsoft workers protest $480m HoloLens reality headset military deal

A group of Microsoft workers are demanding the company cancel a contract supplying the U.S. Army with HoloLens headsets that they say would turn real-world battlefields into a video game.

Microsoft's head-mounted HoloLens displays use augmented reality, which means viewers can see virtual imagery superimposed over the scenery in front of them.

A letter signed by more than 50 Microsoft employees and circulated on an internal messaging board said the technology could help soldiers spot - and kill - adversaries on the battlefield.

Microsoft employees have circulated a letter addressed to company bosses arguing they should not supply HoloLens technology to the US military 

In a video, the tech giant shows how a man wearing the HoloLens 2 can repair a motorcycle by reading a holographic manual, but there's concern it will also be used for military purposes

They say they 'refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression.'

'We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used,' the letter says. It asks Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith to cancel a $480 million contract the Army announced in November.

Microsoft said in a statement Friday that it is committed to working with the military, including the Army under the HoloLens contract.

Microsoft pointed to an October blog post by Smith saying those who defend the U.S. should have 'access to the nation's best technology.' The company added it will continue to address 'important ethical and public policy issues relating to (artificial intelligence) and the military.'

Military bidding documents say the new technology - which the Army calls its Integrated Visual Augmentation System - will be used for both training and warfighting. The Army's stated aim is to bring more situational awareness to troops so that they become more lethal and mobile.

The protesting workers say it means HoloLens, better known for its business and entertainment applications, will be used to help kill.

The protesting workers write that 'it will be deployed on the battlefield, and works by turning warfare into a simulated 'video game,' further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed.' The Army didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The letter also asks Microsoft to stop building any weapons technologies and appoint an independent ethics review board to determine acceptable uses of Microsoft technology.

Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality technology allows users to see the world around them, but with virtual graphics overlaid 

HOW DOES HOLOLENS WORK? 

The HoloLens uses a visor to project 'holographic' images onto the wearer's field of view.

It uses sensors to track the wearer's head to ensure the hologram is in the same way.

A projection system them beams the holographic images into the wearer's eye, fooling the brain into thinking they are real.

However, Microsoft has not revealed exactly how it does this.

The headset also has a camera to track the user's hands, allowing them to interact with the holographic images. 

The internal unrest over the Army contract follows a year of activism by tech workers who have become increasingly emboldened to voice their concerns about how their products are applied. 

A similar employee protest at Google last year contributed to the company dropping out of the military's Project Maven, which uses artificial intelligence to analyze aerial images from combat zones. Microsoft workers also last year raised public concerns and circulated an open letter protesting the company's work with U.S. immigration authorities.

Microsoft under Nadella has sought to distinguish itself as an ethically minded corporation that takes care to use its technological advances in ways that benefit society. 

The employee protest letter Friday acknowledged some of those efforts but said more needs to be done to inform engineers of the intent of the software they're building.

It also comes as Nadella is expected to unveil a new generation of HoloLens headsets this week at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

An open letter from the workers of Microsoft protesting $480m HoloLens military deal

Dear Satya Nadella and Brad Smith, 

We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers, and we refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression. 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. We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used.

In November, Microsoft was awarded the $479 million Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) contract with the United States Department of the Army. 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.'. Microsoft intends to apply its HoloLens augmented reality technology to this purpose. While the company has previously licensed tech to the U.S. Military, it has never crossed the line into weapons development. With this contract, it does. The application of HoloLens within the IVAS system is designed to help people kill. It will be deployed on the battlefield, and works by turning warfare into a simulated 'video game,' further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed.

 Intent to harm is not an acceptable use of our technology. 

We demand that Microsoft:

1) Cancel the IVAS contract; 

2) Cease developing any and all weapons technologies, and draft a public-facing acceptable use policy clarifying this commitment;

3) Appoint an independent, external ethics review board with the power to enforce and publicly validate compliance with its acceptable use policy. 

Although a review process exists for ethics in AI, AETHER, it is opaque to Microsoft workers, and clearly not robust enough to prevent weapons development, as the IVAS contract demonstrates. Without such a policy, Microsoft fails to inform its engineers on the intent of the software they are building. Such a policy would also enable workers and the public to hold Microsoft accountable. 

Brad Smith's suggestion that employees concerned about working on unethical projects 'would be allowed to move to other work within the company' ignores the problem that workers are not properly informed of the use of their work. There are many engineers who contributed to HoloLens before this contract even existed, believing it would be used to help architects and engineers build buildings and cars, to help teach people how to perform surgery or play the piano, to push the boundaries of gaming, and to connect with the Mars Rover (RIP). These engineers have now lost their ability to make decisions about what they work on, instead finding themselves implicated as war profiteers. 

Microsoft's guidelines on accessibility and security go above and beyond because we care about our customers. We ask for the same approach to a policy on ethics and acceptable use of our technology. Making our products accessible to all audiences has required us to be proactive and unwavering about inclusion. If we don't make the same commitment to be ethical, we won't be. We must design against abuse and the potential to cause violence and harm.

Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to do more. But implicit in that statement, we believe it is also Microsoft's mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to do good. We also need to be mindful of who we're empowering and what we're empowering them to do. Extending this core mission to encompass warfare and disempower Microsoft employees, is disingenuous, as 'every person' also means empowering us. As employees and shareholders we do not want to become war profiteers. To that end, we believe that Microsoft must stop in its activities to empower the U.S. Army's ability to cause harm and violence. 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/26/microsoft-workers-protest-480m-hololens-reality-headset-military-deal/
Main photo article A group of Microsoft workers are demanding the company cancel a contract supplying the U.S. Army with HoloLens headsets that they say would turn real-world battlefields into a video game.
Microsoft’s head-mounted HoloLens displays use augmented reality, which means viewers can see virtual...

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Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca





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