Microsoft CEO responds to criticism of supplying HoloLens to US defense

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella remains committed to the decision to conclude a multimillion-dollar contract to provide US military personnel with the HoloLens. A group of Microsoft employees is against this, because the glasses can be used to make weapons.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella tells CNN that he is transparent about the contract and wants to remain in conversation with employees. “We have made a principled decision that we will not withhold technology from institutions that have been democratically elected to protect the freedom we enjoy,” said the Microsoft CEO.

The decision concerns the delivery of the HoloLens to the US Defense, a contract worth 479 million dollars. Microsoft was tasked with providing the US military with an Integrated Visual Augmentation System by November. Delivery can be up to 100,000 HoloLens headsets. According to the Ministry of Defense, the aim of the platform is that soldiers can ‘combat, practice and train with it for increased lethality, mobility and situational awareness, necessary to surpass our current and future adversaries’.

In an open letter Microsoft employees, united as ‘Microsoft Workers 4 Good’, opposed this agreement. They called for the contract to be canceled and stricter ethical guidelines to be followed. According to the employees, technicians working on the HoloLens had very different goals in mind when they worked on the technology and are now confronted with the fact that there is money to be made from warfare. They also state that it is Microsoft’s mission to get people and organizations to do more, but also to let people do more good. “We need to be mindful of who we empower and what we enable them to do,” the open letter reads. More than 100 Microsoft employees have signed the letter.

Microsoft announced the HoloLens 2 with a larger field of view and Snapdragon 850-soc on Sunday. The AR glasses are intended for business applications and cost $3500.