Microsoft's Milestone Blighted: Employees Protest Role of AI in Gaza War on 50-Year Anniversary

Date: 2025-04-05 By-Graphicode India

Microsoft's 50th anniversary ceremony became controversial as staff members disrupted proceedings to protest the company's purported provision of AI tools to the Israeli military. Employee Ibtihal Aboussad stormed the stage at a Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman keynote, yelling, "Shame on you! Microsoft sells AI weapons fueling genocide in Gaza." She also tossed a Palestinian keffiyeh onto the stage before being removed.

A second protest erupted later when former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer joined Satya Nadella onstage. Employee Vaniya Agrawal echoed concerns, amplifying scrutiny over Microsoft’s military contracts.

The backlash follows an Associated Press report linking Microsoft and OpenAI’s AI systems to Israeli military operations, including a 2023 misfire in Lebanon that killed civilians. Earlier this year, similar internal protests led to staff removals, but Friday’s dissent went global.

Microsoft said it condones employee opinion but "steers clear of business disruption." Aboussad and Agrawal were quickly locked out of work accounts, however, indicating possible termination.

As controversy over AI ethics grows, Microsoft's anniversary today highlights an increasingly widening gap between corporate aspiration and employee conscience.