The 50th anniversary of Microsoft took an unexpected turn on April 4 (Friday) when A Pro-Palestinian protest violated the main speech of AI Mustafa Suleyman. The protest was part of the return reaction growth over the participation of the technology industry in providing AI tools to the Israeli military Among the constant conflict in Gaza.
The protest began during the presentation of Suleiman about updating products and a long -term Microsoft vision for its AI assistant, Copilot. Microsoft co -founder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Balmer and current CEO Satya Nadel were sitting in the audience when a protest took place.
Microsoft employee, Ibthal Aboussad, interrupted the speech, shouting, “Mustafa, ashamed of you” before going to the stage. Suleiman stopped briefly when she continued: “You claim that you care about the use of AI for good, but Microsoft sells weapons of the II Israeli military. Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft has the strength of this genocide in our region.”
Ibthal Aboussad added: “Stop using the II for genocide,” and threw kefir – which became a symbol of Palestinian solidarity – on stage.
Someone suddenly started screaming during Mustafa Suleiman’s speech on the 50th anniversary of Microsoft Copilot Live, where Bill Gates and Steve Balmer were also in the audience. pic.twitter.com/9m0btponz
– G (@beForeagi) April 4, 2025
While Ibthal Aboussad thwarted this event, AI CEO Suleiman remained calm and replied, “Thank you for the protest, I hear you.” Meanwhile, Abusad continued to accuse him and Microsoft of “blood on his hands”.
Later in this event, another employee, Vodia Agral, also protested – this time during the segment, which presented all three Microsoft executives: Gates, Ballmer and Nadella. It was the first time the trio appeared on stage together since 2014.
These protests are in an investigation into the Associated Press earlier this year, which revealed AI models developed by Microsoft and Openai, were used by Israeli military personnel to help determine the goals of bombing in Gaza and Lebanon. In one of these cases, in 2023, a tragic airstrike was involved, which mistakenly killed three children and their grandmothers in Lebanon.
As Microsoft reacted to protests
While the company did not confirm any disciplinary action, both Abusad and Agrawal lost access to their work accounts shortly after the event, reports that it reports. Abusad said AP, which Microsoft did not address, and suspected they may have been stopped.
