Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman’s presentation at the company’s 50th anniversary event on Friday was suddenly interrupted when the company’s employees staged a protest in support of Palestine. The protest came at a time when the technology industry is facing growing criticism for supplying artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the Israeli military during the Gaza conflict.
The protest started while Mustafa Suleyman was speaking about the company’s AI assistant product Kopilo and updates to the products. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer were also present in the audience. A video of the incident went viral on social media, in which a Microsoft employee, Ibtihal Abusaid, rushed to the stage and protested, shouting “Mustafa, shame on you”. Abusad took to the stage and said, “You claim you use AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli army. Fifty thousand people have died and Microsoft is promoting this genocide.” After this, he threw a keffiyeh scarf on the stage, which has become a symbol of support for the Palestinians.
Bill Gates and Satya Nadella also faced protest
In addition, another protest took place during the celebration of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary. Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer and current CEO Satya Nadella were on stage during the event, and it was the first public gathering for the three. During this time, another Microsoft employee, Vania Agarwal, also protested.
Controversial use of AI
The main reason for this protest was related to a report in 2023, which revealed that Microsoft and OpenAI’s AI models were used in Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. One incident was cited when an Israeli airstrike mistakenly targeted a Lebanese family, killing three girls and their grandmother. The incident has raised questions about Microsoft and other tech companies’ military contracts.
Protest and worker status
In February, five Microsoft employees boycotted a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella to protest military contracts. While the protest was internal, Friday’s demonstration took place during a company livestream event, making it public. Microsoft commented on the demonstration, saying, “We provide multiple avenues for everyone’s voices to be heard. It’s important that we do this in a way that doesn’t disrupt business. If that happens, we ask participants to move to another location.”
Employee status
Abusaad and Agrawal, who were part of the demonstration, said they lost access to their work accounts after the demonstration and were unable to log in again, indicating they could be fired. However, Microsoft has not issued any official statement in this regard. Thus, Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebrations became mired in controversy when the company and its leaders faced questions over its role in the Palestine and Israel conflict.
