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Just in case you didn’t believe that the nation was
suffering a patriotism deficit, high tech companies have stepped forth to disabuse you
of your naiveté.
First, it was Google. As the Wall Street Journal editorialized:
Last
year Google employee-activists successfully bullied CEO Sundar Pichai into backing
out of one Pentagon artificial-intelligence project and withdrawing a bid for
another.
Unpatriotic activists have now set their sights on
Microsoft:
Microsoft employees are circulating
a petition demanding the company drop a Pentagon contract for an
augmented-reality system they say will turn “warfare into a simulated ‘video
game,’ further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality
of bloodshed.” The employees also want Microsoft to “cease developing any and
all weapons technologies.”
What will happen if this becomes more pervasive?
If they
spread throughout the industry, they could end up eroding the U.S. military’s
access to top-of-the line artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, authoritarian
countries like China are mustering the full force of their technology in their
militaries and for domestic political control.
Fortunately, Microsoft executives are made of sterner stuff
than Google executives. The Journal continues:
CEO
Satya Nadella told CNN that “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.”
If our major tech firms refuse to support
America, we are going to find ourselves at a serious competitive disadvantage:
No
company can be forced to enter into a contract. But the integrity of U.S.
defense has always depended on a basic sense of patriotism in private industry.
Mr. Nadella should stick to his guns.
Ah, yes, patriotism. Apparently, today’s left has lost its
sense of patriotism. It has decided to use its massive power to advance a
political cause, a leftist cause, at that. Inevitably, the United States
Congress will crack down on these companies, which have become far too powerful
for their or anyone else’s good. Trust busting is coming at them.
3 comments:
Wow, someone said “NO!” to a bunch of children with non-negotiable demands. There are still grown-ups left in tech.
As I've commented here before, I am reluctant to agree that the withdrawal of Google, and a possible retreat by Microsoft, from military contracting is a bad thing. Those businesses are chock-a-block with SJWs and HB-1 visas with minimal background checks, and are, in my opinion at least, potential hives for national security risks. There are plenty of tested and true tech contractors out there like Raytheon, Lockheed, and Northrop that have vast software development experience.
"Microsoft employees are circulating a petition demanding the company drop a Pentagon contract for an augmented-reality system they say will turn “warfare into a simulated ‘video game,’ further distancing soldiers from the grim stakes of war and the reality of bloodshed.” The employees also want Microsoft to “cease developing any and all weapons technologies.” They're never going to get shot at. If they were, I would expect they'd have a completely different opinion.
"Trust busting is coming at them." I look forward to this!
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