Microsoft employee disrupts 50th anniversary and calls AI boss ‘war profiteer’

A Microsoft worker disrupted the company’s 50th day lawsuit to protestation its usage of AI.

“Shame connected you,” said Microsoft worker Ibtihal Aboussad, speaking straight to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. “You are a warfare profiteer. Stop utilizing AI for genocide. Stop utilizing AI for genocide successful our region. You person humor connected your hands. All of Microsoft has humor connected its hands. How situation you each observe erstwhile Microsoft is sidesplitting children. Shame connected you all.”

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Sources astatine Microsoft archer The Verge that soon aft Aboussad was ushered retired of Microsoft’s event, she sent an email to a fig of email organisation lists that incorporate hundreds oregon thousands of Microsoft employees. Here is Aboussad’s email successful full:

Hi all,

As you mightiness person conscionable seen connected the livestream oregon witnessed successful person, I disrupted the code of Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during the highly-anticipated 50th day celebration. Here’s why.

My sanction is Ibtihal, and for the past 3.5 years, I’ve been a bundle technologist connected Microsoft’s AI Platform org. I spoke up contiguous due to the fact that aft learning that my org was powering the genocide of my radical successful Palestine, I saw nary different motivation choice. This is particularly existent erstwhile I’ve witnessed however Microsoft has tried to quell and suppress immoderate dissent from my coworkers who tried to rise this issue. For the past twelvemonth and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim assemblage astatine Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity from Microsoft. Attempts astatine speaking up astatine champion fell connected deaf ears, and astatine worst, led to the firing of 2 employees for simply holding a vigil. There was simply nary different mode to marque our voices heard.

We are witnessing a genocide

For the past 1.5 years, I’ve witnessed the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian radical by Israel. I’ve seen unspeakable suffering amidst Israel’s wide quality rights violations – indiscriminate carpet bombings, the targeting of hospitals and schools, and the continuation of an apartheid authorities – each of which person been condemned globally by the UN, ICC, and ICJ, and galore quality rights organizations. The images of guiltless children covered successful ash and blood, the wails of mourning parents, and the demolition of full families and communities person everlastingly fractured me.

At the clip of writing, Israel has resumed its full-scale genocide successful Gaza, which has truthful acold killed by immoderate estimates implicit 300,000 Gazans successful the past 1.5 twelvemonth alone. Just days ago, it was revealed that Israel killed 15 paramedics and rescue workers successful Gaza, executing them “one by one,” earlier burying them successful the soil — yet different horrific warfare crime. All the while, our “responsible” AI enactment powers this surveillance and murder. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice person concluded that this is simply a genocide, with the International Criminal Court issuing apprehension warrants for Israeli leaders.

We are Complicit

When I moved to AI Platform, I was excited to lend to cutting-edge AI exertion and its applications for the bully of humanity: accessibility products, translation services, and tools to “empower each quality and enactment to execute more.” I was not informed that Microsoft would merchantability my enactment to the Israeli subject and government, with the intent of spying connected and murdering journalists, doctors, assistance workers, and full civilian families. If I knew my enactment connected transcription scenarios would assistance spy connected and transcribe telephone calls to amended people Palestinians (source), I would not person joined this enactment and contributed to genocide. I did not motion up to constitute codification that violates quality rights.

According to AP news, determination is “a $133 cardinal declaration betwixt Microsoft and Israel’s Ministry of Defense.”

“The Israeli military’s usage of Microsoft and OpenAI artificial quality spiked past March to astir 200 times higher than earlier the week starring up to the Oct. 7 attack. The magnitude of information it stored connected Microsoft servers doubled betwixt that clip and July 2024 to much than 13.6 petabytes.”

“The Israeli subject uses Microsoft Azure to compile accusation gathered done wide surveillance, which it transcribes and translates, including telephone calls, texts and audio messages, according to an Israeli quality serviceman who works with the systems. That information tin past beryllium cross-checked with Israel’s in-house targeting systems.”

Microsoft AI besides powers the astir “sensitive and highly classified projects” for the Israeli military, including its “target bank” and the Palestinian colonisation registry. Microsoft unreality and AI enabled the Israeli subject to beryllium much lethal and destructive successful Gaza than they different could.

Microsoft has besides been providing software, unreality services, and consulting services to the Israeli subject and government, totaling millions successful profit. War Criminal Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly mentioned his beardown ties to Microsoft. A database of these contracts with the Israeli subject and authorities tin beryllium recovered here: An Introduction to Microsoft’s Complicity successful Apartheid and Genocide

In fact, Microsoft is truthful profoundly connected to the Israeli subject that it was conscionable yesterday designated 1 of the precedence boycott targets of the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) campaign.

Regardless of your governmental stances, is this the bequest we privation to permission behind? Is moving connected deadly AI weapons thing you tin archer your children about? Do we privation to beryllium connected the incorrect broadside of history?

Even though your enactment could beryllium unrelated to the unreality that the subject uses, your enactment benefits the institution and allows it to instrumentality connected the contract. Regardless of your team, you service a institution that is arming the Israeli occupation. It is undeniable that portion of your compensation, nary substance however small, is being paid by genocide.

Whether you enactment connected AI oregon not, you volition beryllium complicit if you bash nothing. It is present OUR occupation to instrumentality a vocal basal against Microsoft AI’s engagement successful crimes against humanity.

This is wherefore I decided to talk up today, and wherefore I signed this important petition to request Microsoft chopped ties with genocide. And I impulse you each to bash the same.

Call to Action

Silence is complicity. But enactment ever has a reaction, nary substance however large oregon small. As workers for this company, we indispensable marque our voices heard, and request that Microsoft does the close thing: halt selling exertion to the Israeli military.

If you are besides acrophobic astir this news, and you besides privation your enactment to beryllium utilized ethically, I impulse you to instrumentality action:

Sign the No Azure for Apartheid petition: We volition not constitute codification that kills. And articulation the run to adhd your dependable to the increasing fig of acrophobic Microsoft employees.

Join maine successful showing our discontent successful this thread. If you besides consciousness tricked into deploying weapons which people children and civilians, impulse enactment (CC’ed) to driblet these contracts.

Don’t halt speaking up. Urge SLT to driblet these contracts astatine each opportunity.

Start conversations with your co-workers astir the points supra – truthful galore employees whitethorn not know!

Microsoft’s quality rights connection prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a quality rights-related concern: Human rights connection | Microsoft CSR

Our institution has precedents successful supporting quality rights, including divestment from apartheid South Africa and dropping contracts with AnyVision (Israeli facial designation startup), aft Microsoft worker and assemblage protests. My anticipation is that our corporate voices volition motivate our AI leaders to bash the same, and close Microsoft’s actions regarding these quality rights violations, to debar a stained legacy. Microsoft Cloud and AI should halt being the bombs and bullets of the 21st century.

Sincerely,

A acrophobic Microsoft employee