‘Shame on You’: Microsoft's 50th Anniversary Marred By Pro-Palestinian Protest, Employees Confront CEOs

The tech giant Microsoft marked its 50th anniversary with a grand celebration, but the event was disrupted by a group of pro-Palestinian protesters in presence of Bill Gates, Satya Nadella and Mustafa Suleyman. The protesters, who were Microsoft employees, expressed their outrage over the company's involvement in providing artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military. The protest has thrown spotlight on the growing concerns about human rights abuses in the Middle East. Multiple videos have also surfaced regarding the incident, wherein the protesters were shouting ‘shame on you’, pointing at AI CEOs at the event.

According to reports, the protest began when Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman took the stage to present updates on the company's AI-powered assistant, Copilot. As Suleyman began his presentation, a Microsoft employee, identified as Ibtihal Aboussad, stood up and shouted, "Mustafa, shame on you!" Aboussad accused Suleyman of hypocrisy, saying that while he claimed to care about using AI for good, Microsoft was actually selling AI-powered technology to the Israeli military, which has been implicated in human rights abuses in Gaza and Lebanon.

"You're claiming that you care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military," Aboussad said. "Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region," she stated. Suleyman attempted to respond, saying, "Thank you for your protest, I hear you," but Aboussad continued to express her outrage, throwing a keffiyeh scarf onto the stage and accusing Suleyman and Microsoft of having “blood on their hands”.

The protest was not limited to Aboussad's outburst. Another Microsoft employee, Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted a later segment of the celebration, during which Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and current CEO Satya Nadella were on stage. Notably, the event witnessed the first public gathering of the three men since 2014.

As per reports, the protest was triggered by a recent revelation, which claimed that Microsoft and OpenAI had provided AI models to an Israeli military program used to select bombing targets in Gaza and Lebanon. The investigation mentioned about an errant Israeli airstrike in 2023 that killed three young girls and their grandmother in Lebanon.

The protesters asserted that the investigation's findings have raised concerns about the tech industry's role in fueling conflicts and human rights abuses in the Middle East. Notably, Microsoft's involvement in providing AI technology to the Israeli military has been particularly contentious, with many employees expressing their outrage and disappointment.

Employee Reactions And Company Response

The two protests were not an isolated incident. In February, five Microsoft employees were ejected from a meeting with Nadella for protesting the company's contracts with the Israeli military. The latest protest was more public, with the event being livestreamed and some employees rallying outside the venue.

Microsoft has stated that it provides many avenues for employees to express their opinions, but it expects them to do so in a way that does not disrupt business operations. The company declined to comment on whether it would take further action against the protesters.

However, Aboussad and Agrawal, the two protesters, have lost access to their work accounts and have been unable to log back in, suggesting that they may have been fired. Aboussad told The Associated Press that she had not heard from the company regarding her actions, but she was prepared to face the consequences of her protest.