Microsoft 50th Anniversary Copilot Event interrupted by protester

Near the beginning of Microsoft's 50th Anniversary Copilot Event, a protester interrupted the company's presentation. It has now been reported that protester was Ibtihal Aboussad, a Microsoft employee.

Aboussad was seemingly off to the side of the stage, so it is difficult to understand what they yelled.

To the best of my ability, I have transcribed what I believe Aboussad stated:

"You claim that you care... that you use AI for good... but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. 50,000 people have died."

The Verge also shared the following quotes that were stated by Aboussad:

"Shame on you. 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.”

The protester's comments happened during the presentation of Microsoft Copilot CEO Mustafa Suleyman.

Suleyman responded by saying "thank you for your protest, I hear your protest."

I cannot determine intent or feelings of those involved with the incident. It does appear that Suleyman appeared to be making an attempt to deescalate the situation and to not comment on any specific statements made by the protester.

The Verge confirmed Aboussad was ushered out of the Microsoft event.

The protester appears to have yelled "shame on you" at Suleyman. They also seem to state "you have blood on your hands... all of Microsoft has blood on its hands."

Other accusations were made, though it is difficult to decipher the statements of the protester. I believe at one point the phrase "killing children" was yelled.

Suleyman transitioned back to his presentation in a calm manner following the protest.

The live stream of the event has since been made private. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden also shared a video of the incident on X. I have also embedded a YouTube video filmed by someone at the event that has been shared by The Verge's YouTube account.

Note: This is a developing story and we will add more information as it becomes available.

Microsoft employee disrupts 50th anniversary and calls AI boss 'war profiteer' - YouTube

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What was the protest about?

With the protest happening during a live event, it will likely take a while to receive an official response from Microsoft. Details of the incident are also sourced from a live stream and people attending the event in person.

Based on the comment stated during the protest, the protester appears to be referencing a report by Drop Site that claims the Israeli military is one of Microsoft's top AI customers.

That report came out on January 23, 2025 and cites leaked documents.

Aboussad sent an email to lists that contained either hundreds or thousands of Microsoft employees, according to The Verge. Below is Aboussad's email:

"Hi all,

As you might have just seen on the livestream or witnessed in person, I disrupted the speech of Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during the highly-anticipated 50th anniversary celebration. Here’s why.

My name is Ibtihal, and for the past 3.5 years, I’ve been a software engineer on Microsoft’s AI Platform org. I spoke up today because after learning that my org was powering the genocide of my people in Palestine, I saw no other moral choice. This is especially true when I’ve witnessed how Microsoft has tried to quell and suppress any dissent from my coworkers who tried to raise this issue. For the past year and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim community at Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity from Microsoft. Attempts at speaking up at best fell on deaf ears, and at worst, led to the firing of two employees for simply holding a vigil. There was simply no other way to make our voices heard.

We are witnessing a genocide

For the past 1.5 years, I’ve witnessed the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel. I’ve seen unspeakable suffering amidst Israel’s mass human rights violations - indiscriminate carpet bombings, the targeting of hospitals and schools, and the continuation of an apartheid state - all of which have been condemned globally by the UN, ICC, and ICJ, and numerous human rights organizations. The images of innocent children covered in ash and blood, the wails of mourning parents, and the destruction of entire families and communities have forever fractured me.

At the time of writing, Israel has resumed its full-scale genocide in Gaza, which has so far killed by some estimates over 300,000 Gazans in the past 1.5 year alone. Just days ago, it was revealed that Israel killed fifteen paramedics and rescue workers in Gaza, executing them “one by one,” before burying them in the sand -- yet another horrific war crime. All the while, our “responsible” AI work powers this surveillance and murder. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice have concluded that this is a genocide, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

We are Complicit

When I moved to AI Platform, I was excited to contribute to cutting-edge AI technology and its applications for the good of humanity: accessibility products, translation services, and tools to “empower every human and organization to achieve more.” I was not informed that Microsoft would sell my work to the Israeli military and government, with the purpose of spying on and murdering journalists, doctors, aid workers, and entire civilian families. If I knew my work on transcription scenarios would help spy on and transcribe phone calls to better target Palestinians (source), I would not have joined this organization and contributed to genocide. I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights.

According to AP news, there is “a $133 million contract between Microsoft and Israel’s Ministry of Defense.”

“The Israeli military’s usage of Microsoft and OpenAI artificial intelligence spiked last March to nearly 200 times higher than before the week leading up to the Oct. 7 attack. The amount of data it stored on Microsoft servers doubled between that time and July 2024 to more than 13.6 petabytes.”

“The Israeli military uses Microsoft Azure to compile information gathered through mass surveillance, which it transcribes and translates, including phone calls, texts and audio messages, according to an Israeli intelligence officer who works with the systems. That data can then be cross-checked with Israel’s in-house targeting systems.”

Microsoft AI also powers the most “sensitive and highly classified projects” for the Israeli military, including its “target bank” and the Palestinian population registry. Microsoft cloud and AI enabled the Israeli military to be more lethal and destructive in Gaza than they otherwise could.

Microsoft has also been providing software, cloud services, and consulting services to the Israeli military and government, totaling millions in profit. War Criminal Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly mentioned his strong ties to Microsoft. A list of these contracts with the Israeli military and government can be found here: An Introduction to Microsoft’s Complicity in Apartheid and Genocide

In fact, Microsoft is so deeply connected to the Israeli military that it was just yesterday designated one of the priority boycott targets of the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) campaign.

Regardless of your political stances, is this the legacy we want to leave behind? Is working on deadly AI weapons something you can tell your children about? Do we want to be on the wrong side of history?

Even though your work could be unrelated to the cloud that the military uses, your work benefits the company and allows it to take on the contract. Regardless of your team, you serve a company that is arming the Israeli occupation. It is undeniable that part of your compensation, no matter how small, is being paid by genocide.

Whether you work on AI or not, you will be complicit if you do nothing. It is now OUR job to take a vocal stand against Microsoft AI’s involvement in crimes against humanity.

This is why I decided to speak up today, and why I signed this important petition to demand Microsoft cut ties with genocide. And I urge you all to do the same.

Call to Action

Silence is complicity. But action always has a reaction, no matter how big or small. As workers for this company, we must make our voices heard, and demand that Microsoft does the right thing: stop selling technology to the Israeli military.

If you are also concerned about this news, and you also want your work to be used ethically, I urge you to take action:

Sign the No Azure for Apartheid petition: We will not write code that kills. And join the campaign to add your voice to the growing number of concerned Microsoft employees.

Join me in showing our discontent in this thread. If you also feel tricked into deploying weapons which target children and civilians, urge leadership (CC’ed) to drop these contracts.

Don’t stop speaking up. Urge SLT to drop these contracts at every opportunity.

Start conversations with your co-workers about the points above - so many employees may not know!

Microsoft’s human rights statement prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a human rights-related concern: Human rights statement | Microsoft CSR

Our company has precedents in supporting human rights, including divestment from apartheid South Africa and dropping contracts with AnyVision (Israeli facial recognition startup), after Microsoft employee and community protests. My hope is that our collective voices will motivate our AI leaders to do the same, and correct Microsoft’s actions regarding these human rights violations, to avoid a stained legacy. Microsoft Cloud and AI should stop being the bombs and bullets of the 21st century.

Sincerely,

A concerned Microsoft employee"