Big Tech and Big Government

Can big tech help modernize the U.S. Department of Defense?

That’s what Amazon supremo Jeff Bezos hopes. Speaking at a defense forum over the weekend, Bezos said that tech companies should compete for more defense contracts. “My view is that if big tech is turning their back on the Department of Defense, this country is in big trouble,” Bezos said, per Reuters.

Of course, this is a very thorny issue on a number of levels. We all likely remember the revolt from Google employees over a project with the Pentagon on artificial intelligence and drone technology. And with mounting skepticism over how big tech collects and uses our data, should they be involved in military operations too?

Bezos argued that tech firms can help the U.S. better defend itself given the state of modern warfare, and in theory that is true. But any continued integration of tech companies and the military bears watching.