Microsoft lays out sweeping racial justice vision | Fox Business

Microsoft boosting connectivity in rural America during coronavirus

Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott discusses how new developments in tech and AI are aiding in the coronavirus fight.

Microsoft said today it will take a three-pronged approach to racial justice by increasing diversity and a culture of inclusion within the company, leveraging its partnerships with suppliers to create opportunities for minority businesses, and using data and technology to improve the education and employment of minority communities.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, wrote in an email to employees that they will ensure its culture of inclusion is a “top priority” by investing $150 million in diversity and inclusion, as well as doubling the number of black and African American employees in management and senior roles.

In its business ecosystem, the tech giant will double the number of African American-owned suppliers they work with and spend an additional $500 million with those suppliers over the next three years. They also plan to create a $100 million FDIC program and a $50 million investment fund to support African American-owned businesses.

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In communities, it will expand its effort to introduce STEM programs in high schools that primarily serve black students, expand broadband access for communities of color, and increase technological support for nonprofits that are led by people of color.

Nadella’s sweeping vision for racial justice is as comprehensive as any that have been announced by tech companies in the wake of George Floyd’s death while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

But Microsoft has the money to do it. The company said it had more than $130 billion in cash and investments at the end of 2019.

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Nadella’s email did not say anything about facial recognition technology, which has been a hot button issue during discussions of police reform due to its potential for discrimination.

The National Institute of Science and Technology found in a December 2019 study that African American and Asian people were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified by facial recognition technology than white men.

Microsoft announced earlier this month that it will not sell facial recognition software to police departments or federal law enforcement agencies until a national law governing its use is put in place, the company has said.

WHAT IS FACIAL RECOGNITION?

The American Civil Liberties Union released emails last week that revealed how Microsoft tried to sell its facial recognition technology to the Drug Enforcement Administration in late 2017 and 2018.

A Microsoft spokesperson told FOX Business that the company has been urging the government to regulate the facial recognition industry since 2018. Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in July 2018, "We therefore need a principled approach for facial recognition technology, embodied in law, that outlasts a single administration or the important political issues of a moment."

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Congress in a letter on June 8th that the company will no longer offer facial recognition products due to their potential for misuse. Amazon followed suit by announcing a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition technology, Rekognition, on June 10th.