How American Companies are Different
After Google was opposed by many of its staff for working with the U.S. military system on some defense related projects where Google was providing technology, it promised not to renew the contract.
Google, hoping to head off a rebellion by employees upset that the technology they were working on could be used for lethal purposes, will not renew a contract with the Pentagon for artificial intelligence work when a current deal expires next year.
Now Salesforce is seeing itself in a similar situation, but now with the border control agency.
Another tech company is trying to parse the moral crisis at the border. After employees at Salesforce complained about the company's work for the Customs and Border Protection service, CEO Marc Benioff defended the contract. The company's software isn't used to separate children from their parents, he wrote in an email to employees, adding "I'm opposed to separating children from their families at the border. It is immoral." (Fortune)
Just imagine the near impossibility of such happening in Nigeria. Largely, nearly all companies would be honored to serve and work for our governments. I personally do not think providing technology to deepen a nation's military capability is bad. My point here is that a company could see government as a small part of its business to ever entertain pressure from its employees in this way is surprising. That such happens shows the strength of the U.S. private sector where these companies have found success.
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