that does not in any way make it correct

That is absolutely the only requirement for it to be correct. Words are defined by the way people use them, and that can change over time. A dictionary is a record, not a rulebook.

It's only a certain subset of the population that speaks like this. It's pompous and ridiculous. Are the two syllables in the word "request" one too many for people working in Product?

Most people only use a subset of language, and a lot of language is used only by a small subset of people. "The Ask" is in mainstream usage - or at least known to - the target audience of TFA, which may not include you.

are you high / in wonderland?

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.” ― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/grol/alice/glass06.htm

Are you educated?

Descriptivism is overwhelmingly the mainstream view or practice of language scholars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_description