Microsoft says its Azure and AI tech hasn’t harmed people in Gaza

Microsoft says it has recovered nary grounds that the Israeli subject has utilized its Azure and AI exertion to harm Palestinian civilians oregon anyone else in Gaza. The bundle shaper says it has “conducted an interior reappraisal and engaged an outer firm,” to execute a review, aft immoderate Microsoft employees person repeatedly called connected the institution to chopped its contracts with the Israeli government.

Microsoft says that its narration with the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) is “structured arsenic a modular commercialized relationship,” and that it has “found nary grounds that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, oregon immoderate of our different software, person been utilized to harm radical oregon that IMOD has failed to comply with our presumption of work oregon our AI Code of Conduct.” Microsoft’s AI codification of conduct requires that customers usage quality oversight and entree controls to guarantee unreality and AI services don’t inflict harm “in immoderate mode that is prohibited by law.”

The reappraisal process included “interviewing dozens of employees and assessing documents,” looking for grounds that Microsoft technologies were being utilized to people oregon harm anyone successful Gaza. However, the institution notes that it “does not person visibility into however customers usage our bundle connected their ain servers oregon different devices,” truthful the grounds to pass its reappraisal is intelligibly precise constricted successful scope.

The reappraisal comes conscionable weeks aft 2 erstwhile Microsoft employees disrupted the company’s 50th-anniversary event, with 1 calling Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, a “war profiteer” and demanding that Microsoft “stop utilizing AI for genocide successful our region.” A 2nd protester interrupted Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, erstwhile CEO Steve Ballmer, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella aboriginal connected successful the event.

Both erstwhile Microsoft employees besides sent abstracted emails to thousands of coworkers, protesting the institution providing software, unreality services, and consulting services to the Israeli military. The archetypal protester, Ibtihal Aboussad, was fired, and the second, Vaniya Agrawal, was dismissed soon aft putting successful her 2 weeks’ notice. Both are associated with No Azure for Apartheid, a radical of existent and erstwhile Microsoft employees rallying against Microsoft’s contracts with Israel.

The radical accuses Microsoft of “supporting and enabling an apartheid state,“ by not suspending income of unreality and AI services to Israel, like it did to Russia erstwhile it invaded Ukraine. It has besides highlighted reports from The Guardian and the Associated Press, based connected leaked documents, that item the Israeli military’s accrued usage of Azure and OpenAI exertion to stitchery accusation done wide surveillance and usage AI tools to transcribe and construe telephone calls, texts, and audio messages. Microsoft besides reportedly supplied 19,000 hours of engineering enactment and consultancy services to the Israeli military, successful a woody that’s said to beryllium valued astatine astir $10 million.

“It is worthy noting that militaries typically usage their ain proprietary bundle oregon applications from defense-related providers for the types of surveillance and operations that person been the taxable of our employees’ questions,” says Microsoft successful its blog post. “Microsoft has not created oregon provided specified bundle oregon solutions to the IMOD.”

Hossam Nasr, an organizer of No Azure for Apartheid, has taken contented with Microsoft’s statement, saying it’s “filled with some lies and contradictions” successful an interview with GeekWire.

“There is nary signifier of selling exertion to an service that is plausibly accused of genocide — whose leaders are wanted for warfare crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court — that would beryllium ethical,” says Nasr. “That’s the premise that we reject.” Nasr besides highlighted that Microsoft’s connection mentions Israel aggregate times, but “not erstwhile did they sanction Palestinians oregon Palestinian radical oregon Palestine” successful the blog post. “I deliberation that inactive speaks to wherever Microsoft’s concern interests genuinely lie.”