During Microsoft's 50th anniversary event on Friday, a pro-Palestinian demonstration by employees disrupted a keynote speech given by AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, highlighting simmering discontent over the tech giant's reported involvement in providing artificial intelligence tools to Israel's military.
The pause came as Suleyman was announcing the product updates and Microsoft's vision for its AI assistant, Copilot, to a high-profile audience that comprised co-founder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and current CEO Satya Nadella.
Microsoft staffer Ibtihal Aboussad marched onto the stage and screamed: "Mustafa, shame on you. Microsoft is selling AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty-thousand individuals have been killed, and Microsoft is fueling this genocide in our region." She tossed a keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, on the stage before she was removed.
Suleyman replied warmly, "Thank you for your protest, I hear you.
Another staffer, Vaniya Agrawal, subsequently cut short a once-a-year appearance by Gates, Ballmer, and Nadella together on stage—the first-ever public meeting of all three of the company's previous and existing CEOs since 2014.
The protests follow an Associated Press investigation earlier this year, which revealed that AI models developed by Microsoft and OpenAI were reportedly used in Israeli military targeting programs during operations in Gaza and Lebanon. One cited incident involved the killing of a Lebanese family in a misidentified airstrike.
While Microsoft recognized workers' rights to express dissent, it made it clear that demonstrations should not interfere with business. "We offer numerous channels for all voices to be heard… but we request that this be done without business disruption," the firm stated in a statement.
After the protests, both Aboussad and Agrawal had their Microsoft work accounts reportedly removed, indicating possible firing, although the company has not publicly confirmed any form of disciplinary action.
This protest is one of several instances of internal uprising at Microsoft, following a February incident when five employees were ushered out of a meeting with Nadella after expressing similar dissent.
The protests mirror wider tensions in the tech world, as staff at large companies increasingly protest corporate engagement with military technology, especially in war zones such as Gaza.
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