Comment by crabbone
3 months ago
Well, MS didn't have to do anything. It's enough that they have (or had) the opportunity to do something.
There isn't an Overmind in MS that in a creepy voice tells you to spawn more overlords. Less than that, there doesn't need to be a written document that tells you to give money to MS or your data etc. There's just a general accepted understanding among the people who run that company that ends justify the means. And by "ends" they mean them and their investors getting rich.
If Haskell compiler could've been turned into a money-making machine, and it only required killing off half of Haskell programmer, MS would be working overtime on the plan to hide the bodies, but they'd never even consider the possibility of killing being bad... (metaphorically speaking, hopefully)
Do you also suspect homicidal money making motives behind Z3, Lean, and F*? It seems more likely to me that they just want some useful knowledge out of these projects that they can integrate into a product that actually sells.
I have a misfortune to know personally some of the mid-to-high level execs from MS. What I write is based on the experience of working with these people. And I don't even know what Z3, Lean or F* are, so, pardon my ignorance, but I cannot answer your question.