HoloLens team calls on Microsoft to cancel US Army contract

Microsoft engineers working on the mixed reality HoloLens project are calling on the company to give up its multi-million dollar contract with the US Army.

A group of Microsoft workers have tweeted an open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith, titled “HoloLens for Good, Not War.” In the letter, the workers wrote, “We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers, and we refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression,” adding, “We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used.”

The workers have demanded Microsoft to cancel the Integrated Visual Augmented System (IVAS) contract, cease developing any weapons technologies, and appoint an external ethics review board.

Microsoft was awarded a USD 480 million contract to supply the US Army with the IVAS for use by the US soldiers to fight and train in missions by increasing lethality, the letter pointed.

In response to the letter, Microsoft pointed to its earlier decision of providing technology to the US forces, Cnet reported.

The company said that it is committed to providing its technological expertise to the US Department of Defense, including the US Army.