On Friday afternoon, a protester interrupted Microsoft’s keynote concerning Copilot to bring attention to the company’s alleged involvement with the Israeli military.
The protester accused Microsoft by saying, “Shame on you. You claim that you care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military… All of Microsoft has blood on its hands.”
During the disruption, Microsoft’s Head of Consumer AI, Mustafa Suleyman, whose segment was affected by the protest, responded several times with, “I hear your protest, thank you.”
In February, the Associated Press reported that advanced AI models from Microsoft and Microsoft’s close collaborator, OpenAI, were purportedly used by the Israeli military to select bombing targets during recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. An errant bombing reportedly resulted in the deaths of several young girls and their grandmother.
Multiple protests have been organized against Microsoft’s alleged involvement, some even led by the company’s own employees.
At 12:20 p.m. Pacific, a second protester interrupted another panel discussion that included CEO Satya Nadella along with former CEOs Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. The Verge reported that these protests were coordinated by No Azure for Apartheid, an ongoing movement among some Microsoft employees.
