Navigating the Ethics of Defense Technology

Balancing Innovation and Morality

Silicon Valley and the tech industry got their start supporting the Department of Defense.

Somehow, over time, a divide grew between the Pentagon and Silicon Valley. This came to a head around 2018, when Google employees threatened to leave the company en masse, over the company’s participation in and support to the military’s Project Maven.

Things have changed dramatically since 2018. Today, we see greater alignment between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon than we have in decades. It seems that every week a VC firm announces its own support to Defense Tech.

However, not everyone has been convinced that supporting defense is moral or ethical. Today, some LPs, VCs, and even founders believe that investing time or capital into Defense Technology is immoral and unethical.

For those that are on the fence, there are opportunities to support defense without contributing to killing or causing suffering.