This week, Microsoft announced its second generation HoloLense augmented reality device. This again kicked up some anti-military rhetoric and opposition to the company's stance on government contracts. Microsoft is planning to sell 100,000 HoloLense headsets to the US army in a contract worth $480 million . A small number of employees posted an open letter to the company asking Microsoft to cancel the contract. They stated that "we do not want to become war profiteers." I'm not here to make an argument for or against the military. I just want to consider some of the implications of the employees' statement. The military already spends millions of dollars on existing Microsoft technology and software. Any technology used by the military is used for the purposes of the military, including war and lethality. A desktop OS, an email server, and an augmented reality device are all part of the same system. If you philosophically don't want to make weapons, then how ...
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