Microsoft Workers Protest Promoting AI to Israel

Microsoft kicked 5 staff out of a city corridor occasion yesterday as a result of they had been protesting the corporate’s contracts with the Israeli army. Microsoft is offering synthetic intelligence fashions to the Israeli army to assist them battle its wars in Gaza and Lebanon, a enterprise transfer that’s seen as an ethical stain on the corporate by a few of its staff.

On February 25, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was readily available on the firm’s campus in Redmond, Washington to speak about new merchandise. On the balcony above him, 5 staff stood in a line carrying a collection of coordinated shirts that spelled out Satya’s title and requested the query: “Does our code kill youngsters?”

Regardless of standing silently – the employees had been swiftly eliminated by Microsoft Safety and barred from re-entering their very own city corridor occasion. pic.twitter.com/3uezvCyHLZ

— No Azure for Apartheid (@NoAz4Apartheid) February 25, 2025

Nadella by no means acknowledged the protestors and so they had been quietly escorted out of the occasion by safety. “We offer many avenues for all voices to be heard,” Microsoft mentioned in an announcement in regards to the protests. “Importantly, we ask that this be completed in a means that doesn’t trigger a enterprise disruption. If that occurs, we ask contributors to relocate. We’re dedicated to making sure our enterprise practices uphold the very best requirements.”

However what in regards to the query: “Does our code kill youngsters?”

Based on reporting from the Associated Press and Drop Site News, the reply might be sure. Microsoft has a $133 million contract with the Israeli army to supply the Israeli army with entry to OpenAI fashions by means of Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. The Israeli army then makes use of these fashions to assist it make choices about the place and when to intention its airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel’s use of Azure spiked after Hamas attacked the nation on October 7, 2023. The Israeli army feeds large quantities of surveillance information into Microsoft Azure after which makes use of its AI fashions to sift by means of the data and decide enough focusing on places. Israel advised the Related Press that it’s been doing this for years, however {that a} human at all times makes the ultimate determination to strike a location. A whole lot of kids have died in these strikes.

Not all Microsoft staff are snug with the corporate profiting off of Israel’s warfare in Gaza. The protest motion is known as No Azure for Apartheid. “Microsoft earnings from genocide,” it mentioned in a publish on Instagram. “As revealed within the [AP investigation], the Israeli army is Microsoft’s second-largest army buyer after the US…the Israeli army is without doubt one of the strategically most vital Microsoft prospects and receives prime precedence technical companies and assist.”

No Azure for Apartheid revealed an inventory of calls for in a weblog publish final yr. It desires Microsoft to finish its Azure contracts with the Israeli army, disclose all its ties with the nation’s army, name for a ceasefire, shield staff, and uphold free speech. In October final yr, after these calls for had been revealed, Microsoft fired two staff who organized a vigil on the firm’s headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza.

The ache and struggling inflicted on Gaza utilizing AI doesn’t finish with Microsoft. On Tuesday night time, hours after the protestors had been kicked out of the city corridor, President Trump posted an AI-generated video on Fact Social. Since his inauguration, Trump has mentioned he’d wish to take over Gaza and switch it right into a resort. The video he posted confirmed what that may appear to be.

The AI-slop video is past offensive. Elon Musk stands below a bathe of cash whereas a track performs. “No extra tunnels, no extra concern, membership gaza is lastly right here.” In a single shot, individuals mill round a cityscape that appears like Los Angeles whereas a large golden statue of Trump looms over them.