Microsoft was celebrating its 50th anniversary with some prominent leaders, including Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, Steve Ballmer, and the CEO of Microsoft of AI, Mustafa Suleyman. The celebrations were interrupted by two employees who protested against the company's use of AI technologies and how they are playing a role in a global conflict. Microsoft's public stance on ethical Artificial Intelligence was challenged by the protesters, who continue to highlight the growing transparency concerns of employees as well as the tech community about the deployed AI tools.
As Microsoft celebrates its 50th anniversary, two employees interrupted the celebrations and voiced against the company's use of its AI tools
Microsoft was celebrating its 50 years in the industry, and the event involved some key figures associated with the company, such as Bill Gates - the co-founder of Microsoft; Steve Ballmer - the former CEO; Satya Nadella - the current CEO, and Mustafa Suleyman - the CEO of Microsoft AI. The celebration included the company's partners, employees, and collaborators. The event took an intense turn when two employees of the company stood up against its use of AI technology.
It was initially Ibtihal Aboussad who made a bold protest against the company's use of AI technology to support war efforts, especially in areas that are affected by violence. She condemned the company for celebrating a milestone without weighing the moral outage of the company's use of innovation and technology. While stating her concerns and directing her disappointment at Microsoft's AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, Aboussad said:
You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide. Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands. How dare you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children. Shame on you all.
While the employee was escorted out of the event, she sent an email to many of the Microsoft employees voicing the same concerns. Then, the celebration was interrupted by another protester, Vaniya Agrawal, who jumped in while all the prominent figures, past and current CEOs, were present on stage and called them out regarding their alleged involvement in military applications of AI. The present and past chief executives continued their discussion without addressing the incident.
Microsoft's 50th-anniversary celebration was meant to highlight the company's latest innovation in Copilot and AI, but the protests caused a shift in the atmosphere, changing the focus away from the leaps in technology to deeper ethical concerns.
