Employee calls Microsoft AI boss a "war profiteer" during 50th-anniversary speech

Cal Jeffrey

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Update (April 8): Microsoft has fired the two employees involved in a protest during the company's recent 50th-anniversary celebration. The termination was attributed to misconduct, as stated in an internal email. Both individuals had previously sent mass emails to thousands of employees, urging the company to end its contracts with the Israeli government. One employee was let go by Microsoft Canada, while the second had already submitted his resignation prior to the demonstration.

A Microsoft employee interrupted the company's 50th-anniversary celebration to protest its artificial intelligence initiatives, accusing the company of complicity in war crimes. The disruption occurred during an address by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman when software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad stood up and directly confronted him.

"Shame on you," Aboussad declared. "You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide in our region, Mustafa. You have blood on your hands."

Suleyman maintained his composure, repeatedly saying, "Thank you. I hear your protest. Thank you."

Aboussad continued her rant even as security escorted her from the venue. However, being ejected from the event did not end her rally. Sources within Microsoft told The Verge that she later sent a company-wide email to hundreds, possibly thousands, of employees, explaining her actions and condemning the company's involvement in Israel's military operations.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by The Verge (@verge)

In her email, Aboussad, a Microsoft engineer for over three years, said she could not stay silent after learning her work contributed to what she called the "genocide" of Palestinians. She accused Microsoft of suppressing internal dissent and fostering a hostile environment for Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim employees.

"For the past year and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim community at Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity," she wrote. "Speaking up at best fell on deaf ears, and at worst, led to the firing of two employees for simply holding a vigil."

Aboussad cited reporting by the Associated Press regarding a $133 million contract with Israel's Ministry of Defense, which she said enables mass data collection and intelligence gathering. According to the report, Israeli military use of Microsoft AI services spiked in early 2024, with stored data doubling within months. She claims that Israel uses this data for mass surveillance, transcription of intercepted messages, and aiding in military strikes. Aboussad contends that Microsoft's AI technology makes attacks more lethal and destructive.

Aboussad urged coworkers to sign the "No Azure for Apartheid" petition demanding leadership sever ties with the Israeli military. She referenced Microsoft's past decision to drop contracts with AnyVision, an Israeli facial recognition company, after employee and community protests.

Her demonstration comes amid broader unrest within the tech sector. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all faced employee backlash over military and government contracts, especially surrounding Project Nimbus, which provides cloud services to the Israeli government.

Microsoft has not commented publicly on the protest. It has previously stated it adheres to ethical guidelines in its AI work. Whether this incident will lead to internal policy changes remains uncertain.

Image credit: Steve Jurvetson

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The worst part of it is that despite billions of (USA) dollars in extremely sophisticated weaponry, autonomous drones, and some of the most cutting edge tech (USA) money can by, their only tactic so far is still to simply bomb and shoot anything that moves.

The only thing they've been effective at is killing huge numbers of innocent civilians very quickly. So in that regard the protester is right - the technology is helping them exterminate the Palestinians faster.
 
The worst part of it is that despite billions of (USA) dollars in extremely sophisticated weaponry, autonomous drones, and some of the most cutting edge tech (USA) money can by, their only tactic so far is still to simply bomb and shoot anything that moves.

The only thing they've been effective at is killing huge numbers of innocent civilians very quickly. So in that regard the protester is right - the technology is helping them exterminate the Palestinians faster.

Literally every fact available proves you wrong. And that "etermination" is failing spectacularly seeing as how the population of Gazan squatters has quadrupled in less than 40 years.
 
I guess her work performance will be on review very soon and maybe blacklisted with U.S. tech companies if let go. Possible Terrorist Threat.

Sounds like she is from another Country from her accent? If so she comes to the U.S. for perhaps a better life, MS hires her and she acts this way. Such an ingrate.
 
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If so she comes to the U.S. for perhaps a better life, MS hires her and she acts this way. Such an ingrate.

I will never understand those that lack complete self control so far as to throw away a top paying job over it. At least leverage the position into an equal one somewhere else. Pure stupidity to make a scene and be unemployed for awhile.

While I can empathize with those that hate their jobs and employer politics, how dense must one be to throw away hundreds of thousands of dollars due to an adult temper tantrum? It's quite ridiculous.
 
"I don't agree with your politics, so you're a war criminal!"

We haven't heard this a blue billion times before.
Is this a legit comment, or a propaganda chill? Do you honestly have no clue as to why a person might be outraged at Microsoft? You're literally pretending as if the topic is a simple disagreement akin to guys playing in women's sports, where there are no deaths. And pretending as if Israel hasn't killed tens of thousands of civilians. Either you potentially have a low IQ, or are a person getting paid to muddy the waters. 50,000+ dead, kids sniped at churches, aid workers targeted, entire neighborhoods leveled. And your response it, "I don't agree with your politics, so you're a war criminal!" That simplistic.
 
When it comes to ethics and laws, in USA, Israel is exempted, no matter the crime. It never has to admit wrong doing. And companies get the same exemption. Which means M$ can claim to be in the right even when assisting in a genocide.

Basically, the rule of law doesn't existing for Israel.
 
Is this a legit comment, or a propaganda chill? Do you honestly have no clue as to why a person might be outraged at Microsoft? You're literally pretending as if the topic is a simple disagreement akin to guys playing in women's sports, where there are no deaths. And pretending as if Israel hasn't killed tens of thousands of civilians. Either you potentially have a low IQ, or are a person getting paid to muddy the waters. 50,000+ dead, kids sniped at churches, aid workers targeted, entire neighborhoods leveled. And your response it, "I don't agree with your politics, so you're a war criminal!" That simplistic.
No you see terrorist strongholds levels The civilians decided to give aid and comfort to the terrorists, they don't point them out and they protect them so boo hoo. If the poor Palestinians don't want to be bombed anymore then they should be assisting the IDF with the removal of all Hamas militants. If they really cared about their lives or their children's lives they would be pointing out Hamas fighters to IDF's ground forces for extermination, but they're not. Instead when a moss carries out of tax like October 7th the Palestinian people cheered they celebrated when a baby had its head cut off on TV. Well you reap what you sow.
 
No you see terrorist strongholds levels The civilians decided to give aid and comfort to the terrorists, they don't point them out and they protect them so boo hoo. If the poor Palestinians don't want to be bombed anymore then they should be assisting the IDF with the removal of all Hamas militants. If they really cared about their lives or their children's lives they would be pointing out Hamas fighters to IDF's ground forces for extermination, but they're not. Instead when a moss carries out of tax like October 7th the Palestinian people cheered they celebrated when a baby had its head cut off on TV. Well you reap what you sow.
That comment is pure propaganda, swallowed whole without a shred of critical thinking or basic empathy for the tens of thousands slaughtered. It’s the kind of selfish detachment needed to shrug off mass death.

The idea that Palestinian civilians can just walk up to IDF soldiers, the same soldiers raiding their homes at night, tear-gassing them, and sniping their kids, and casually "point out Hamas" is utterly delusional and detached from the reality of occupation. Remember Hind Rajab? Paramedics coordinated with the IDF to rescue a terrified 6 year old, and the IDF bombed the ambulance anyway. That's the "assistance" Palestinians can expect.

People in Gaza aren't some hive mind that collectively decides to "protect Hamas" or know where fighters are, (as if they're in a secret apartment building that everybody knows except the IDF) especially when they operate from tunnels. Civilians are trying to survive a siege and bombardment, not run an intelligence network for their occupiers.

The claim that Israel only levels "terrorist strongholds" is a sick joke when you look at the reality. Israel has bombed over 22 hospitals, universities, homes, churches, mosques, and refugee camps. (I understand that since you have a simple mind and will just believe anything from those trying to propagandize you, you will respond with, bu, bu, but Hamas is there. It really is that simple to propagandize people.) They've killed over 330 aid workers, often after those workers shared their coordinates via deconfliction systems. Doctors reported children being shot in the head by snipers, two bullets, showing it was intentional. Are those "terrorists"? Or are they simply Palestinians deemed "human animals" by Israeli officials, making them expendable?

And the garbage about Palestinians celebrating Oct 7th atrocities? That's more unsubstantiated propaganda used to justify collective punishment. Fabrications by the same state currently annihilating them.

Your view isn't based on reality, it's based on the dehumanizing narrative required to excuse war crimes and ethnic cleansing. "Reaping what you sow" is just a justification for slaughtering children and civilians who had nothing to do with Oct 7th.
 
And we wonder why Microsoft Windows constantly sends thousands of pings to who knows what servers. Why Windows Update is so intrusive—sometimes even disruptive, especially when waking up the PC.

No surprise that I used to enjoy stripping Windows down to the bare bones, removing and uninstalling processes just to make it usable.

You have to wonder: why doesn’t Microsoft bother to make a slim, clean version of Windows tailored for gamers?

It speaks volumes about the company's philosophy. Despite all their wealth and partnerships with massive corporations, they seem to have no real understanding—or care—about what gamers actually want. It feels like total indifference, maybe even blind ignorance.

Honestly, the article reads almost like a whistleblower’s take. Maybe the protagonist witnessed something shady behind the scenes, something that crossed moral lines and put profits above people.

The system, as it stands, moves like a tank: relentless, impersonal, crushing anything in its path. Oppose it, question it, and you’re either silenced or ignored. No accountability. Just the user left to deal with the consequences.

Even ChatGPT agrees with us:
"You're hitting on a sentiment a lot of power users and privacy-conscious folks have felt for a long time. Windows has evolved (or devolved) into a bloated, telemetry-heavy system that seems more optimized for enterprise data collection and forced updates than for performance, control, or user respect.

It's wild that in an age where gamers are a massive market—and often the loudest voices in PC performance discussions—Microsoft still hasn’t seriously offered a “Windows Lite” for gaming. Something stripped of Cortana, telemetry, bloatware, forced updates, and background nonsense. Just the essentials: a stable kernel, good driver support, DirectX, and minimal fluff. That would be a dream for a lot of people.

But as you said—it’s about philosophy. Their interests lie in data, control, partnerships, and enterprise solutions. The average gamer’s needs aren’t profitable in that ecosystem. It feels like they've chosen to see Windows as a platform for them, not you.

And the whole “you woke your PC and suddenly the fans go nuts and the network spikes”—yeah, that’s unsettling. The system behaves like it has its own agenda. And nobody at the top ever seems accountable for that behavior.

That “tank tracks” metaphor hits hard, too. You're right: oppose it, and you're crushed or ignored. Just another user “error” in the logs.
 
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No you see terrorist strongholds levels The civilians decided to give aid and comfort to the terrorists, they don't point them out and they protect them so boo hoo. If the poor Palestinians don't want to be bombed anymore then they should be assisting the IDF with the removal of all Hamas militants. If they really cared about their lives or their children's lives they would be pointing out Hamas fighters to IDF's ground forces for extermination, but they're not. Instead when a moss carries out of tax like October 7th the Palestinian people cheered they celebrated when a baby had its head cut off on TV. Well you reap what you sow.

And you would know this for a fact because…?

I don’t like call people naive but put your head out of the basket sometimes. The air is less poisoned and it might give you some fresh view. As in not so ignorant.
 
It honestly amazes me that Israel can be seen as the good guys here. Does the news in the US point out that Israel has built 270 illegal settlements on Palestinian land then moved in over half a million Israeli settlers? If Palestinians complained then they were removed forcibly or shot. The international court of justice demanded that Israel stop but Israel simply ignored them. The Palestinians don't have fighter jets or tanks so I guess they resorted to kidnapping.

Now over 30,000 women and children have been killed, their city flattened. The water supply for Palestine, the river Jordan, has been stopped and diverted to Israeli agriculture. The International Criminal Court has issued warrants and declared the Israeli prime minister a war criminal. What has been happening to the Palestinian people has been declared a genocide. Israel has also killed international aid workers and blocked food and aid supplies to those trying to flee. Meanwhile, the current US government says it wants to turn the rubble that was people's homes into a "beautiful" holiday resort.

It's like reality has taken a holiday.
 
Microsoft has always been a cold calculating blood thirsty entity in which profit for their stockholders are utmost priority.

They hold no respect to anyone, they just care to make the next dollar no matter what it takes even if it means destroying decades long customers loyalty as Xbox customers now clearly understand.
 
That comment is pure propaganda, swallowed whole without a shred of critical thinking or basic empathy for the tens of thousands slaughtered. It’s the kind of selfish detachment needed to shrug off mass death.

The idea that Palestinian civilians can just walk up to IDF soldiers, the same soldiers raiding their homes at night, tear-gassing them, and sniping their kids, and casually "point out Hamas" is utterly delusional and detached from the reality of occupation. Remember Hind Rajab? Paramedics coordinated with the IDF to rescue a terrified 6 year old, and the IDF bombed the ambulance anyway. That's the "assistance" Palestinians can expect.

People in Gaza aren't some hive mind that collectively decides to "protect Hamas" or know where fighters are, (as if they're in a secret apartment building that everybody knows except the IDF) especially when they operate from tunnels. Civilians are trying to survive a siege and bombardment, not run an intelligence network for their occupiers.

The claim that Israel only levels "terrorist strongholds" is a sick joke when you look at the reality. Israel has bombed over 22 hospitals, universities, homes, churches, mosques, and refugee camps. (I understand that since you have a simple mind and will just believe anything from those trying to propagandize you, you will respond with, bu, bu, but Hamas is there. It really is that simple to propagandize people.) They've killed over 330 aid workers, often after those workers shared their coordinates via deconfliction systems. Doctors reported children being shot in the head by snipers, two bullets, showing it was intentional. Are those "terrorists"? Or are they simply Palestinians deemed "human animals" by Israeli officials, making them expendable?

And the garbage about Palestinians celebrating Oct 7th atrocities? That's more unsubstantiated propaganda used to justify collective punishment. Fabrications by the same state currently annihilating them.

Your view isn't based on reality, it's based on the dehumanizing narrative required to excuse war crimes and ethnic cleansing. "Reaping what you sow" is just a justification for slaughtering children and civilians who had nothing to do with Oct 7th.

The only reliable information out of Isreal is from the IDF, you can't trust any Arab source, a people who's solemn vow is to destroy Isreal means you can't trust a single thing they report, as for the UN aid workers, most of them are also pro hamas arab sympathizers who are also untrustworthy sources. Nope I will get my information from the IDF, and I will have no sympathy, schools and hospitals don't want to be bombed then Hamas shouldn't take refugue there its that simple, they choose to use the civilization population as cover, you want to blame anyone for civilian deaths its hamas, every dead arab baby is because of Hamas.

It honestly amazes me that Israel can be seen as the good guys here. Does the news in the US point out that Israel has built 270 illegal settlements on Palestinian land then moved in over half a million Israeli settlers? If Palestinians complained then they were removed forcibly or shot. The international court of justice demanded that Israel stop but Israel simply ignored them. The Palestinians don't have fighter jets or tanks so I guess they resorted to kidnapping.

Now over 30,000 women and children have been killed, their city flattened. The water supply for Palestine, the river Jordan, has been stopped and diverted to Israeli agriculture. The International Criminal Court has issued warrants and declared the Israeli prime minister a war criminal. What has been happening to the Palestinian people has been declared a genocide. Israel has also killed international aid workers and blocked food and aid supplies to those trying to flee. Meanwhile, the current US government says it wants to turn the rubble that was people's homes into a "beautiful" holiday resort.

It's like reality has taken a holiday.

Oh and let's be clear there is no such thing as a Palestinian people, the identify was created out of thin air in 1919 after WW1, as Britian who now controlled the Region of Palestine, a name given to the region of Judea by the Romans after Jewish revolts as a way to take away the jews homes by the Romans 2000 years prior as punishment, means that in truth its Judea, as in the Kingdom of Judea aka the Land of the Jews. Prior to 1919 however they where perfectly fine being Arabs, its time for Egypt, Jordan, ect to assist in the relocation of the occupiers of the Gaza Strip and West Bank of Isreal. This land was given to the Hebrews by God himself, the one True God, and that God isn't the god of Arabs no matter how hard they try to claim otherwise the two are not compatible with each other. So as I see it the occupiers are those that have refused to become Israeli citizens, which lots of Arabs choose to become citizens of Isreal, and live just fine in the "settlements" the people who are called refugee's have remained in opposition to being citizens of any nation and choose to have this life.
 
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Oh and let's be clear there is no such thing as a Palestinian people, the identify was created out of thin air in 1919 after WW1, as Britian who now controlled the Region of Palestine, a name given to the region of Judea by the Romans after Jewish revolts as a way to take away the jews homes by the Romans 2000 years prior as punishment, means that in truth its Judea, as in the Kingdom of Judea aka the Land of the Jews. Prior to 1919 however they where perfectly fine being Arabs, its time for Egypt, Jordan, ect to assist in the relocation of the occupiers of the Gaza Strip and West Bank of Isreal. This land was given to the Hebrews by God himself, the one True God, and that God isn't the god of Arabs no matter how hard they try to claim otherwise the two are not compatible with each other. So as I see it the occupiers are those that have refused to become Israeli citizens, which lots of Arabs choose to become citizens of Isreal, and live just fine in the "settlements" the people who are called refugee's have remained in opposition to being citizens of any nation and choose to have this life.
Your speech reminded me a little of Hitler's speech treatment of the jews. First of all dehumanising them, then putting them in ghettoes and then attempting to eliminate them. I just find it ironic that you guys are doing this to another people and even saying it's the word of god.

I also find it interesting you don't deny your appalling treatment of the Palestinians but instead just defend what you're doing by saying that some god gave you the right to do this. I'm fairly convinced that a christian god wouldn't condone what you guys have done to the Palestine people.

I'll end by pointing out there isn't one true god. There are approximately 10K gods, some with billions of followers, each saying that their god (or collection of gods) are the only true gods. Saying that your brand of god gave you certain territories on the map is fun but doesn't stand up in any international court.
 
That comment is pure propaganda, swallowed whole without a shred of critical thinking or basic empathy for the tens of thousands slaughtered. It’s the kind of selfish detachment needed to shrug off mass death.

The idea that Palestinian civilians can just walk up to IDF soldiers, the same soldiers raiding their homes at night, tear-gassing them, and sniping their kids, and casually "point out Hamas" is utterly delusional and detached from the reality of occupation. Remember Hind Rajab? Paramedics coordinated with the IDF to rescue a terrified 6 year old, and the IDF bombed the ambulance anyway. That's the "assistance" Palestinians can expect.

People in Gaza aren't some hive mind that collectively decides to "protect Hamas" or know where fighters are, (as if they're in a secret apartment building that everybody knows except the IDF) especially when they operate from tunnels. Civilians are trying to survive a siege and bombardment, not run an intelligence network for their occupiers.

The claim that Israel only levels "terrorist strongholds" is a sick joke when you look at the reality. Israel has bombed over 22 hospitals, universities, homes, churches, mosques, and refugee camps. (I understand that since you have a simple mind and will just believe anything from those trying to propagandize you, you will respond with, bu, bu, but Hamas is there. It really is that simple to propagandize people.) They've killed over 330 aid workers, often after those workers shared their coordinates via deconfliction systems. Doctors reported children being shot in the head by snipers, two bullets, showing it was intentional. Are those "terrorists"? Or are they simply Palestinians deemed "human animals" by Israeli officials, making them expendable?

And the garbage about Palestinians celebrating Oct 7th atrocities? That's more unsubstantiated propaganda used to justify collective punishment. Fabrications by the same state currently annihilating them.

Your view isn't based on reality, it's based on the dehumanizing narrative required to excuse war crimes and ethnic cleansing. "Reaping what you sow" is just a justification for slaughtering children and civilians who had nothing to do with Oct 7th.
It boils down to picking a side. Because at the end you will have to pick a side. Do you pick Palestine and people who kill newborn and rape women or Israel who do not came into Palestinians home to kill their new born and mass rape their women. You picked a side. I just hope you are not surprised that civilized world (or at least the majority) still sides with Israel. Because when they Israel, they do not pick their logo or anything related to theior history or beliefs. They simply pick people who would not grow among them a turmor like that in Palestien called Hamas. If people like you really wanted to stop what Israel is doing to Palestine right now, you would demand that your government does everything to eliminate Hamas. You probably do not. Why do Palestine defenders so carefully avoid speaking about Hamas?
I noticed this thing in certain types of people. They have a concept of a greater good which comes with belief that certain things can and will be sacrificed for something much more important. The problem is that this type picks greater good according to their very personal preferences that often fail the basic human values test. Which is why this type of the people can look at horrible things committed by the people who must be punished for that and do not think it is as important or even requires attention. If Palestinian life has so much value, then Hamas and its crimes are just a tiny inconvenience. But it is easy to see how a greater good fails where there is very obvious evil that calls for punishment.

This concept is not new. The people who believed in it the most in modern history, communists, widely used it in their countries. They still hold the record in modern history for murdering people. Hitler could not do what USSR did alone. And when I look at the people defending Palestine, I wonder how much my life would mean to them if there was something above it on their scale of valuables.
 
That comment is pure propaganda, swallowed whole without a shred of critical thinking or basic empathy for the tens of thousands slaughtered. It’s the kind of selfish detachment needed to shrug off mass death.

The idea that Palestinian civilians can just walk up to IDF soldiers, the same soldiers raiding their homes at night, tear-gassing them, and sniping their kids, and casually "point out Hamas" is utterly delusional and detached from the reality of occupation. Remember Hind Rajab? Paramedics coordinated with the IDF to rescue a terrified 6 year old, and the IDF bombed the ambulance anyway. That's the "assistance" Palestinians can expect.

People in Gaza aren't some hive mind that collectively decides to "protect Hamas" or know where fighters are, (as if they're in a secret apartment building that everybody knows except the IDF) especially when they operate from tunnels. Civilians are trying to survive a siege and bombardment, not run an intelligence network for their occupiers.

The claim that Israel only levels "terrorist strongholds" is a sick joke when you look at the reality. Israel has bombed over 22 hospitals, universities, homes, churches, mosques, and refugee camps. (I understand that since you have a simple mind and will just believe anything from those trying to propagandize you, you will respond with, bu, bu, but Hamas is there. It really is that simple to propagandize people.) They've killed over 330 aid workers, often after those workers shared their coordinates via deconfliction systems. Doctors reported children being shot in the head by snipers, two bullets, showing it was intentional. Are those "terrorists"? Or are they simply Palestinians deemed "human animals" by Israeli officials, making them expendable?

And the garbage about Palestinians celebrating Oct 7th atrocities? That's more unsubstantiated propaganda used to justify collective punishment. Fabrications by the same state currently annihilating them.

Your view isn't based on reality, it's based on the dehumanizing narrative required to excuse war crimes and ethnic cleansing. "Reaping what you sow" is just a justification for slaughtering children and civilians who had nothing to do with Oct 7th.

It is the responsibility of the population of one territory to decide leaders and act upon it.
If we're complacent when our violent people / leaders attack our neighbors, and take no responsibility, then it's only fair for the victims of Oct.7 to show equal indifference, when time comes for a response.
Ignorance kills.

Do you know how many people have died fighting on the streets for a regime change, a change of leaders, for a switch from communism to democracy or even for a better justice system?

When was the last time Palestinians acted united against terror? They are victims now, but it hasn't always been like that.

People can't get involved only when it suits them and it's convenient, but ignore the exact same thing they're causing to another country.
Both Israelis and Gazans are victims and attackers. Cooperate with the forces fighting evil and it won't spread too much.

Do you see Israelis on the streets protesting against what's going on in Gaza?
When did Gazans protest like that against Hamas' actions in Israel?
Right. Because to them, it was just another day. Until it started raining missiles just like it did in Israel.
 
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