Turmoil spreads at company over Israel’s extensive use of its AI and cloud computing services in Gaza war
Timothy Pratt
For the second time in the last month, Microsoft employees disrupted high-level executives speaking at an event celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary on 4 April, in protest against the company’s role in Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza.
The AI executive Mustafa Suleyman was interrupted by the employees Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal. The two were fired within days. The Microsoft president, Brad Smith, and the former CEO Steve Ballmer were shouted down at Seattle’s Great Hall on 20 March by a current and former employee.
The April event was preceded by a rally outside that also included current and former employees of the tech giant. Protesters projected a sign on to the hall’s wall saying: “Microsoft powers genocide” – a reference to Israel’s extensive use of the company’s AI and cloud computing services since 7 October 2023, as “the IDF’s insatiable demand for bombs was matched by its need for greater access to cloud computing services,” the Guardian reported.
The rally and disruption were the latest of a growing number of protests in which employees at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington state, have urged the company to cut ties with Israel, after discontent around the issue among some of them simmered for a year-plus on company message boards, in emails and on calls with what the company calls “workplace conflict” team members.
Taken together, the protests suggest that more will follow, as well as employees deciding to leave the company altogether, according to present and past employees who spoke to the Guardian. Microsoft did not reply to a request for comment.
The series of events echoes those at other tech companies, including Google, where employees have likewise protested against the company’s ties to Israel and been fired. In February, Google changed its AI guidelines, removing commitments not to use artificial intelligence for surveillance or weapons.
Unrest on the rise in Redmond
The former Microsoft software engineer Hossam Nasr described the situation at the company as “very close to a tipping point”. He highlighted the recent events, a 24 February demonstration at the company’s first in-person town hall since early in the pandemic and a 24 October lunchtime vigil for the tens of thousands of Palestinians that Israel has killed in the last 18 months, as examples of rising discontent…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/18/microsoft-ai-israel-gaza-war
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