Microsoft’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations in Washington on March 4 have been disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, together with two staff who’ve since resigned, calling out the tech big’s alleged involvement in Israeli army operations.
Amongst them was Vaniya Agrawal, a software program engineer from Microsoft’s AI division, who seized the stage in a dramatic act of dissent. Accusing the corporate of enabling violence in Gaza, she publicly resigned in the course of the occasion, labeling Microsoft a “digital weapons producer” earlier than being escorted out of the corridor.
Agrawal denounced Microsoft’s alleged $133 million cope with Israel’s Ministry of Protection, claiming the corporate’s AI and Azure cloud providers have been actively supporting army operations in opposition to Palestinians.
“Microsoft cloud and AI allow the Israeli army to be extra deadly and harmful in Gaza,” she wrote in a company-wide e-mail shortly after confronting the CEO onstage. “It’s plain that Microsoft’s Azure cloud choices and AI developments type the technological spine of Israel’s automated apartheid and genocide methods.”
She additional cited stories linking Microsoft applied sciences to Israel’s surveillance and warfare infrastructure, including, “our labor powers this genocide.”
Agrawal, who joined Microsoft in September 2023 after greater than three years at Amazon, had been working in its synthetic intelligence division. Her protest marked the newest flashpoint in a rising wave of dissent amongst staff. In February, 5 employees members have been faraway from a gathering with CEO Satya Nadella after disrupting it over related considerations.
Microsoft has but to reply publicly to both the accusations or Agrawal’s resignation. The anniversary celebration, which had been centered on the corporate’s developments in AI and productiveness, noticed its narrative abruptly shifted by the protest. Following Agrawal’s removing, Invoice Gates resumed this system with out addressing the incident.
