At Microsoft’s fiftieth anniversary celebration on Friday, the temper shifted dramatically when an organization worker disrupted the occasion to protest Microsoft’s involvement in Israel’s navy operations in Gaza. The demonstration passed off whereas Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, was presenting updates on the corporate’s AI assistant, Copilot, at its headquarters.
Movies circulating on-line present Ibtihal Aboussad, a Microsoft worker, standing up throughout Suleyman’s speech and strolling towards the stage. “Mustafa, disgrace on you,” she shouted, accusing Microsoft of aiding the Israeli navy with AI-powered applied sciences. “You declare that you just care about utilizing AI for good, however Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli navy. Fifty-thousand individuals have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our area,” she declared. Earlier than being escorted out, she threw a keffiyeh scarf onto the stage, a extensively recognised image of Palestinian solidarity.
Suleyman responded by saying, “Thanks on your protest, I hear you,” whereas Aboussad continued to accuse him and the corporate of getting “blood on their arms”.
Watch the video:
Later, a second protest interrupted one other a part of the occasion — this time throughout a uncommon onstage look that includes Microsoft’s three present and former CEOs: Invoice Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Satya Nadella. Vaniya Agrawal, one other worker, voiced related issues about Microsoft’s function in navy functions of AI.
This public disruption got here months after an Related Press investigation revealed that AI instruments developed by Microsoft and OpenAI have been utilized by the Israeli navy in goal choice throughout operations in Gaza and Lebanon. One tragic instance cited concerned a misfire that killed three younger ladies and their grandmother in Lebanon in 2023.
Earlier this yr, 5 Microsoft staff have been faraway from a gathering with Nadella after protesting the corporate’s navy contracts — although that demonstration was stored inside. In distinction, Friday’s protest performed out stay for the world to see.
In a press release, Microsoft mentioned it encourages staff to specific their views however expects them to keep away from disrupting enterprise. “We offer many avenues for all voices to be heard… Importantly, we ask that this be achieved in a manner that doesn’t trigger a enterprise disruption.”
Whereas the corporate has not publicly addressed whether or not disciplinary motion will observe, Aboussad advised the AP that she and Agrawal have since misplaced entry to their work accounts and are presently locked out — a doable signal that their employment could also be in jeopardy.
