GitHub Rides Donkeys, Elephants, and Undecideds Too
July 3, 2018
We don’t often see many overtly political stories in the world of search, AI, and machine learning. Bias, yes. Politics, not so much. When a political theme surfaces, we think it is worth a look. Recently, an interesting dustup involving Microsoft and the border deportation issue came up in an Inquirer article, “GitHub Devs Warn Microsoft ‘Ditch That Contract with ICE or Lose Us’”.
For GitHub, the company’s deal with ICE (The US customs branch responsible for deportation) was a potential deal breaker:
“The signatories join several hundred employees of Microsoft who are now joining calls for the company to ditch its ICE contract over the matter.
“The GitHub petition talks openly of how many developers chose to leave GitHub specifically over the Microsoft takeover of its company for $7.5bn. It goes on to point out that those who remain had decided to give Microsoft a chance to prove itself, and this is that time.”
We have a hunch this battle isn’t over. As The Verge reported recently, Microsoft’s own employees also worked up a petition protesting the company’s relationship with ICE. Amazon wants employees to have a voice in what projects the digital WalMart pursues.
Has management become a reflection of political agendas? Is social justice a new management concept?
Patrick Roland, July 3, 2018
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