Microsoft fires engineers protesting AI supply to 'Israeli' military

Microsoft has terminated two software engineers following their public protests against the company’s involvement in supplying artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the 'Israeli' military.

The protests took place during Microsoft’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, sparking a significant controversy over the company’s contracts with Israel.

Ibtihal Aboussad, a software engineer in Microsoft’s AI division, was fired on Monday for what the company described as “willful misconduct, disobedience, or neglect of duty.” The second engineer, Vaniya Agrawal, had already announced her resignation, effective April 11, but Microsoft moved to make it immediate, following the protests.

The protests began during key moments of the anniversary celebrations. Aboussad interrupted a keynote presentation by Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, accusing the company of complicity in violence. “50,000 people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region,” she shouted, referring to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. During the outburst, Aboussad also threw a keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, onto the stage.

Agrawal disrupted a separate panel featuring Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and co-founder Bill Gates, shouting, “Shame on all of you… Cut ties with Israel.” The protests were aimed at drawing attention to the company’s role in providing AI technology for surveillance and targeting by the 'Israeli' military, amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where over 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have died since October 2023.

In the aftermath, Aboussad sent an internal email accusing Microsoft of suppressing employee dissent. She linked to a petition by "No Azure for Apartheid," a group of Microsoft workers critical of the company's contracts with 'Israel'.

Microsoft responded by saying that Aboussad’s actions caused a major disruption, noting that her behavior was so aggressive that she had to be escorted out of the event by security.

Microsoft defended its actions, stating, “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate.”

This protest is the latest in a series of internal actions by Microsoft employees challenging the company’s partnership with 'Israel'. In February, five Microsoft workers were ejected from a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella for protesting the same issue. This follows similar actions by Google employees, who last year faced termination after speaking out against a USD 1.2 billion AI deal between Google and the 'Israeli' government.

Microsoft’s involvement with the 'Israeli' military has come under scrutiny following an investigation by the Associated Press, which revealed that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI were used in an 'Israeli' military program to select bombing targets during recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

Aboussad and Agrawal’s protests highlight a growing movement within the tech industry, where employees are increasingly vocal about their companies’ roles in military operations, particularly in relation to the 'Israeli' military’s actions in Gaza.

The terminations have drawn criticism from human rights advocates who see them as an attempt to silence dissent within the company.

While Microsoft has maintained that it adheres to high business standards, the firing of these two employees has sparked further debate about accountability in tech companies’ involvement in geopolitical conflicts.