HOUSTON ( WNAM MONITORING ): Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration in the US state of Washington was interrupted by several employees Friday who were protesting the use of the company’s AI products by the Israeli military, according to media reports.
In the first incident, software engineer Ibithal Aboussad, who works on the artificial intelligence speech recognition engine team, took aim at Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Sulleyman as he was giving a speech.
“Mustafa, shame on you,” Aboussad said as she approached the stage.
“You claim that you care for using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military,” she said. “Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”
Suleyman acknowledged Aboussad, who continued to berate him before she was escorted from the room.
“Shame on you. You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide, Mustafa,” said Aboussad. “Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands.”
At a separate event Friday with Sulleyman and former CEOs Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates, another employee interrupted their conversation to protest the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip.
“Shame on you all. You’re all hypocrites,” shouted Vaniya Agrawal, another software engineer in the AI division, before she was taken out of the room.
“Fifty thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology,” she said. “How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood. Cut ties with Israel.”
Agrawal wrote an email to Microsoft executives after she interrupted the celebration, indicating that she would resign, according to CNBC.
“By working for this company, we are all complicit,” said Agrawal.
A Microsoft spokesperson released a statement after the interruptions, saying the company is committed to adhering to the highest standards of business practices.
“We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate,” it said.
In recent months, several AI companies have walked back bans on military use of their products and have entered into deals with the US Defense Department and defense industry companies.
After interrupting Sulleyman’s speech, Aboussad sent an email to Microsoft executives, according to CNBC, in which she explained that she was not told her work would be used for military purposes.
“I was not informed that Microsoft would sell my work to the Israeli military and government,” wrote Aboussad. “I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights.”
