Five Microsoft employees were asked to leave a company meeting with the CEO due to their protest against the company’s agreements to provide artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military. This demonstration occurred after a report highlighted how advanced AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI were being utilized for an Israeli military initiative to identify bombing targets during recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The report also described a misguided Israeli airstrike in 2023, which hit a vehicle carrying a Lebanese family and resulted in the deaths of three young girls and their grandmother.
The company’s CEO, Satya Nadella, was in the middle of discussing new innovations at an employee gathering on the corporate grounds in Redmond, Washington, when workers staged this protest. Standing nearby, these employees donned T-shirts that collectively displayed the query, “Does Our Code Kill Kids, Satya?” Despite the visible protest, Nadella continued his presentation without addressing the disruption. Subsequently, security personnel swiftly removed the protesters.
Microsoft has yet to comment on the protest or disclose if there would be any consequences for the employees involved. The company also previously refrained from addressing last week’s story regarding its contracts with the Israeli military. Prior incidents include Microsoft terminating the employment of two individuals, in October, who organized an unsanctioned gathering to support Palestinian refugees, citing adherence to internal policies.
For several months now, some employees have been voicing their unease over Microsoft’s provision of services to the Israeli military via its Azure platform. Furthermore, there are employees who feel intimidated by the pro-Palestinian stance of some of their colleagues. Internal discussions about this issue have been fueled by the AP’s revelations that utilization of these AI models by the Israeli military surged roughly 200 times following an attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023.
The AP investigation, which drew from internal records and communications, stirred conversations among Microsoft employees, both on internal forums and social media platforms. Employees engaged in dialogue about whether the company was failing to uphold its stated commitments to human rights by allowing AI technology to potentially cause harm, considering the principles Microsoft professes regarding AI use.
Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist, and one of those dismissed following the October vigil, criticized the company for prioritizing financial gain over its human rights obligations. Mohamed, affiliated with a worker group advocating against the military contracts, stated, “Satya Nadella and Microsoft executives need to answer to their workers by dropping contracts with the Israeli military.” The discussion continues as employees urge the company to reassess its ethical standings in the realm of technology and defense contracts.
