In 2018, Google announced it would not renew its contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2019, over 200 employees of Microsoft requested that their company cancel a U.S. Army contract. Since then, more tech companies – like DeepMind, IBM, and Salesforce – have publicly faced the ethical dilemma of whether to be involved in the defense sector.
Why did we bring up this moral question now?
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First, military budgets, including those for software and AI, increased. In 2024, global military spending hit $2.7 trillion, a 9.4% rise from 2023, marking the biggest increase since 1988. A growing military market draws pragmatic tech companies, which, according to a Japanese saying, prefer “dumplings over flowers.”
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Second, recent military conflicts have divided the world, prompting tech companies to make market and sovereign choices to preserve their brand value. The book by E. Black “IBM and the Holocaust” shows that the wrong decision can damage a reputation when the defense industry shifts to the war sector.
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Third, the internal values of any tech company can change over time. When your taxes, partners, or clients fund increasing military expenses, it becomes difficult to stay pacifist and justify yourself by only focusing on B2C and B2B markets and developing solely humanitarian and green initiatives within B2G.
This survey isn't about us but about the era we're in. There won't be any direct questions, but remember where indirect questions lead: link. The survey results will be shared here soon.
