‘Shame on you’: Anti-Israeli protester interrupts Microsoft’s 50th anniversary over AI use in war

A woman disrupted Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration on Friday in protest of the company’s connection to the Israeli military. It occurred during a keynote presentation by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, who was speaking about the future of the company’s AI assistant, Copilot.

The event featured key figures, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer.

As Suleyman spoke, the woman stood up and shouted, “Mustafa, shame on you. You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military.”

“Fifty-thousand people have died … all of Microsoft has blood on its hands. How do you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children? Shame on you all,” she added.

Suleyman responded calmly, saying, “Thank you for your protest, I hear you.”

However, the protester continued, accusing him and Microsoft of having “blood on their hands.”

AI in military operations

The protest comes as there has been increasing scrutiny of how tech firms, including Microsoft and OpenAI, sell AI tools to the military. An earlier report by The Associated Press this year claimed that the AI models produced by the companies were being used by the Israeli military to select bombing targets.

The report further cited a disastrous incident in 2023 when an Israeli airstrike accidentally destroyed a car in Lebanon, killing three young girls and their grandmother.

Earlier in February, five workers were banned from an in-house meeting with CEO Satya Nadella when they protested over the company’s contracts with the military. Meanwhile, Friday’s demonstration was more high-profile because it occurred during a livestreamed celebration.

Microsoft responded to the incident with a statement: “We offer numerous channels for every voice to be heard. Most importantly, we request that this be accomplished in a manner not creating a disruption of business. If this does occur, we request that participants move. We strive to maintain our business practices at the highest level.”

The corporation did not indicate whether it would take any action against the protester.

(With inputs from AP)

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