Microsoft terminated an employee who interrupted a speech by Chief Executive Satya Nadella on Monday to protest the company’s work with the Israeli military, which includes supplying artificial intelligence tools used in the war in Gaza.
Joe Lopez, a software engineer, shouted at Mr. Nadella during the opening minutes of Microsoft’s annual Build developer conference in Seattle before being escorted out. Later, he sent a mass email to colleagues disputing the company’s assertions about how its Azure cloud computing services are being used in Gaza.
His protest was the first of several pro-Palestinian disruptions at the event, which drew thousands of developers to the Seattle Convention Center. At least three executive presentations were interrupted, prompting Microsoft to briefly mute the audio of one livestream. Demonstrators also gathered outside the venue.
Microsoft has previously dismissed employees for protesting its work in Israel, including during its 50th-anniversary celebration in April. Last week, the company acknowledged providing AI services to the Israeli military but said it had found no evidence that its Azure platform or AI technologies were used to target civilians in Gaza.
The advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid, led by current and former employees, said Mr. Lopez received a termination letter after his protest but was unable to open it. The group also accused Microsoft of blocking internal emails containing words like “Palestine” and “Gaza.”
Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment about this week’s protests. The four-day conference concludes on Thursday.
AI News Monitor 
Leave a comment