The 2023 FIRST Championship is presented by BAE Systems. Co-Sponsors include: Bechtel Group Foundation, Central Intelligence Agency, DoD STEM, Ford Motor Company, The Gene Haas Foundation, Google, Mouser Electronics, Rockwell Automation, Inc., United Therapeutics Corporation, The Walt Disney Imagineering, and Zebra Technologies.
Don’t feel too great about the CIA (and the DoD to that end) sponsoring Champs. I can kind of get (even if I don’t like it) why the Space Force sponsors as we saw during kickoff, but the CIA? Definitely puts me on edge. Thoughts?
The various parts of our government look for talented young people the same as any other employer. It’s perfectly OK for you not to want to work for them or speak with them. I’m guessing every corporate sponsor probably has parts of their history that are troubling to some (perhaps you as well). I expect we all have a line where an entity is so far over the line that we would not accept their money (eg the KKK). And it’s OK that we all don’t agree on exactly where that line might be. If you have strong opinions that FIRST has made a choice over where you think the line should be, by all means let them know.
Coming in 2024 the new game Coup Clash sponsored by the CIA. Earn points for your alliance by overthrowing democratically elected South American leaders. Score bonus points by trafficking and selling drugs to vulnerable minorities.
Honestly, their participation is a phenomenal mentoring opportunity to talk to students about how they allow their work to be used, and how they establish and maintain those lines.
In my experience: the world is frequently more grey than a high school student perceives, and this is an excellent opportunity to begin to explore that.
But hear me out… Free spy cameras, audio bugs and combat robots in the kickoff kit. Imagine if a CIA surveillance team was in charge of the GameDay live streams. We’d have every possible coverage angle nailed!
In all seriousness robotics has been on their radar since at least 2015. Surprised it took this long for them to realize they should start seeing what’s out there and being made by the incoming class of possible recruits.
THe CIA is an important part of the national security of the United States and they do a lot of high-tech work. They seem like a good fit. Not like they’re spying on teams.
