{"id":111579,"date":"2019-03-05T12:49:49","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T11:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gerdtestpress.online\/?p=111579"},"modified":"2019-03-11T08:50:22","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T07:50:22","slug":"microsoft-workers-for-good-towards-a-corporate-spring-fuelled-by-digitalethics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/2019\/03\/microsoft-workers-for-good-towards-a-corporate-spring-fuelled-by-digitalethics\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Workers for good: Auf dem Weg zu einem Unternehmensfr\u00fchling, angetrieben von #digitalethics?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In a letter addressed to top executives, a group of Microsoft workers who worked on the company\u2019s HoloLens headset sent a letter to Microsoft CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/exec\/satya-nadella\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Satya Nadella<\/a> and president <a href=\"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/exec\/brad-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brad Smith<\/a> requesting they cancel the company\u2019s $480 million\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbo.gov\/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=288bc3e1eb8d4514f6ed1fd1dcbb9c20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contract<\/a>\u00a0to supply the devices. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The group said the contract terms had \u201ccrossed the line\u201d into combat applications. In essence, the Microsoft workers believe that intent to harm is not an acceptable use of their technology. The technology could be used for tactical augmented reality and creating \u201cEnhanced Situational Awareness\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>What does this mean? Take a look at the video below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tactical Augmented Reality\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x8p19j8C6VI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Microsoft workers used <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/msworkers4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">their own Twitter channel<\/a> to request the cancellation of the military contract.<\/p>\n<p>(You can find a full copy of the letter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/2\/22\/18236116\/microsoft-hololens-army-contract-workers-letter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-111576 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-1-450x357.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-1-450x357.png 450w, https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-1-768x610.png 768w, https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-1.png 865w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Their Twitter channel also called out a number of use non-harmful use cases foe Hololens technology:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-111575 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-2-450x205.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"790\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-2-450x205.png 450w, https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-2-768x350.png 768w, https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/workers-for-good-2.png 865w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Introducing Microsoft HoloLens 2\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eqFqtAJMtYE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In the past, President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith had said that Microsoft employees who have ethics problems with the application of the products they work on can move to work on other products within the company. To which Microsoft Workers replied:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThere are many engineers who contributed to HoloLens before this contract event existed, believing it would be used to help architects and engineers build buildings and care, to help teach people to perform surgery or play the piano, to push the boundaries of gaming, and to connect with the Mars Rover (RIP).\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/2\/25\/18240300\/microsoft-ceo-defends-pentagon-contract-ar-headsets-employee-outcry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">defended<\/a> the company\u2019s multimillion-dollar contract with the Pentagon to supply augmented reality headsets in an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/02\/25\/tech\/augmented-reality-microsoft-us-military\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview with CNN Business today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe made a principled decision that we\u2019re not going to withhold technology from institutions that we have elected in democracies to protect the freedoms we enjoy&#8230; We were very transparent about that decision and we\u2019ll continue to have that dialogue [with employees].\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This is not the first case where employees of big technology companies are requesting their organizations to be serious about ethics and digital ethics more specifically.<\/p>\n<p>In November last year, Google employees organized a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2018\/11\/01\/google-employees-walk-out-in-protest-of-sexual-misconduct-handling.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cglobal walkout\u201d<\/a> demanding more transparency from Google around its handling of sexual harassment, a clear case of corporate ethics. And just last week, Google\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.recode.net\/2019\/2\/21\/18235161\/google-workplace-dispute-end-forced-arbitration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a>\u00a0that it would no longer force its full-time employees or Temps, Vendors and Contractors (TVCs) to resolve disputes such as harassment, discrimination or wrongful termination through arbitration.<\/p>\n<p>Also in November last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2018\/11\/27\/18114285\/google-employee-china-censorship-protest-project-dragonfly-search-engine-letter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google employees were protesting against the Dragonfly project<\/a>: it would help the Chinese government extend its already extensive surveillance state, and it would signal that Google is willing to capitulate to other governments who want to censor the internet.\u00a0The fight is not over, but could it be that we are witnessing the start of a corporate spring, where employees empower themselves to create a digital ethics culture?<\/p>\n<p><em>Guest post by The Futures Agency content curator <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/petervan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Petervan<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>More videos from Gerd: his recent talk at Microsoft's Ativar Event in Lisbon Jan 30 2019<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Futurist Keynote Speaker Gerd Leonhard BuildingTheFuture Lisbon #techvshuman #digitalethics\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AaiJW0lvEnk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eine Gruppe von Microsoft-Mitarbeitern, die am HoloLens-Headset des Unternehmens gearbeitet haben, hat sich in einem Brief an die Unternehmensleitung gewandt und dem Microsoft-CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/exec\/satya-nadella\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Satya Nadella<\/a> und Pr\u00e4sident <a href=\"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/exec\/brad-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brad Smith<\/a> die Streichung der $480 Millionen Euro f\u00fcr das Unternehmen zu fordern\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbo.gov\/index?s=opportunity&#038;mode=form&#038;tab=core&#038;id=288bc3e1eb8d4514f6ed1fd1dcbb9c20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vertrag<\/a>\u00a0um die Ger\u00e4te zu liefern. Warum?<\/p>\n<p>Die Gruppe sagte, dass die Vertragsbedingungen \"die Grenze\" zu Kampfeins\u00e4tzen \u00fcberschritten h\u00e4tten.<\/p>\n<p> ... <a title=\"Microsoft Workers for good: Auf dem Weg zu einem Unternehmensfr\u00fchling, angetrieben von #digitalethics?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/2019\/03\/microsoft-workers-for-good-towards-a-corporate-spring-fuelled-by-digitalethics\/\" aria-label=\"Mehr Informationen \u00fcber Microsoft Workers for good: Auf dem Weg zu einem Unternehmensfr\u00fchling, angetrieben von #digitalethics ?\">Weiterlesen ...<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":111200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,174,616,66,157,1311,1116,68,1091,1095,1092,80,703,1402,756,47],"tags":[1452,1454,1453,1445,668,483],"class_list":["post-111579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activism","category-artificial-intelligence-2","category-augmented-reality","category-communications-marketing","category-culture-philosophy-and-humanity","category-democracy","category-digital-ethics","category-disruption-2","category-futuresagency","category-futuristgerd","category-gerdleonhard-de","category-human-resources","category-law-and-legal-business","category-peter-van","category-technology-versus-humanity","category-the-futures-agency","tag-arbitration","tag-corporate-spring","tag-dragonfly","tag-google","tag-hololens","tag-microsoft","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futuristgerd.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}