Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration in Redmond, Washington, was interrupted Friday when employees protested the company's AI technology contracts with the Israeli military.
During Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman's presentation, software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad approached the stage to voice concerns about the company's AI products being used in military operations. Aboussad, who works on Microsoft's speech recognition team, called out the company's leadership as "war profiteers" before being escorted from the venue.
In a follow-up email to top executives including CEO Satya Nadella, Aboussad expressed dismay at discovering her work was being used by military forces. "I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights," she stated in the message.
A second protest occurred at a separate Microsoft anniversary event when software engineer Vaniya Agrawal interrupted CEO Nadella's speech with similar concerns. Agrawal later announced her resignation, citing Microsoft's "growing role in the military-industrial complex."
The protests highlight increasing tension around tech companies' military partnerships. Recent months have seen AI firms like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI forge new defense contracts worth millions of dollars.
Microsoft responded to the incidents through a spokesperson, stating the company provides channels for employee feedback but requires it be done without business disruption. The spokesperson emphasized that protestors who cause disruptions will be asked to relocate.
The demonstrations cast a shadow over Microsoft's anniversary celebrations, which were meant to showcase updates to the company's Copilot AI assistant and reflect on 50 years of technological innovation.