A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary event to protest its use of AI.
“Shame on you,” said Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, speaking directly to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. “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.”
Sources at Microsoft tell The Verge that shortly after Aboussad was ushered out of Microsoft’s event, she sent an email to a number of email distribution lists that contain hundreds or thousands of Microsoft employees. Here is Aboussad’s email in full:
TL;DR: she works on the speech to text AI product on Azure, which is used by Israel for some of their operations.
Look, I understand her desire to stop fighting in Palestine, but by that logic, we should also be protesting every software and computer manufacturer.
By that logic, if it’s not practical to protest every single injustice in the world, we just shouldn’t bother.
I’d say genocide is a good place to start, wouldn’t you?
Focus on the worst offenders and create pressure to stop them from being complicit in such crimes.
See https://bdsmovement.net/bds-guidelines/bds-guide-strategic-campaigning-palestinian-rights for the way to do targeted boycotts and their impact.
She’s mostly asking her coworkers to speak up.
We should.
Protest the Linux Kernel cause they use it in North Korea and probably weapon systems around the world too?
nobody is profiting from that, so that’s not her point. Linux foundation isnt directly selling something used to detect a blow up kids
They are giving it away for free, which according to you is morally better than selling it? So if I make the AI, make it open source and somebody uses it to blow up kids I’m good. But if I sell it I’m evil?
I get your point. But Microsoft knows exactly who is using their cloud and why (id proof and industry), vs something for everyone to grab (LF doesnt require id proof and industry). Microsoft is knowingly serving child murderers and it knows their tech is used to do exactly that.
You cannot ban kitchen knives because there were a mass stab, but you enforce strict background check so you dont sell rifles to school shooters.
In other words, impossible to enforce linux ban without removing the open source aspect of it and affect good people like, but totally possible just not serve somebody commiting a genocide.
This is an important distinction, and one I wasn’t aware of, that Microsoft know exactly who, where and when the AI is being used, and what exactly it is being used for: the genocide of Palestinians. And who knows what other genocides will follow.