Microsoft’s 50th birthday party sure was eventful →
source: theverge.comTom Warren, writing for The Verge:
Suleyman had barely discussed Copilot for five minutes before Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad approached the stage shouting, “Mustafa, shame on you.” In a moment of confusion, I thought this was somehow part of the event before quickly realizing that it was a protest from an actual Microsoft employee. “You are a war profiteer,” continued Aboussad. “Stop using AI for genocide. Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands.”
Aboussad was protesting against Microsoft’s contracts with the Israeli government. Shortly after being ushered out of the event, she sent an email to thousands of Microsoft employees accusing the company of being complicit in the death and destruction in Gaza over the past 18 months.
…but it didn’t end there:
The sounds of megaphone protests outside the venue occasionally broke through during moments of silence. Nadella had just finished discussing the times he looked to Gates and Ballmer for advice and guidance when a second protester appeared in the audience to disrupt the event. “Shame on you all. You’re all hypocrites,” said Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, as some in the crowd began to boo. Gates chuckled and said “alright,” before returning to the discussion. “I think Steve and I almost cared too much, and our life was the company, and Satya has this ability to care as much as we did, but with more of a team,” he continued.
Shortly after disrupting Microsoft’s three CEOs, Agrawal also sent a mass email to thousands of colleagues, noting that she was resigning from the company and her last day would be Friday, April 11th. After the event, Microsoft fired the first protester, Ibtihal Aboussad, and Agrawal was dismissed ahead of her two-week notice period.
The protests were a surreal part of the event, especially as it was Microsoft employees who organized these interruptions after feeling frustrated that company leadership had ignored their concerns. Microsoft continued on as if nothing had happened again on the day, and the boos and jeering for the final protester certainly left a weird vibe in the room as the company wrapped up its 50th birthday by looking ahead to its next 50 years.
Good on them, shocked to see actual Microsoft employees protest, but it seemed orchestrated for optimal impact. Screw that tone deaf response by Bill Gates, what an ass.