At Microsoft's Build 2025 conference in Seattle, a significant disruption occurred when Joe Lopez, a firmware engineer on the Azure hardware systems team, interrupted CEO Satya Nadella's keynote address. Lopez accused Microsoft of complicity in what he described as Israel's "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians, highlighting the company's provision of cloud and AI services to Israel's Defense Ministry.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of internal dissent within Microsoft regarding its contracts with the Israeli military. In April 2025, during Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration, employees Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal publicly protested the company's AI contracts with Israel. Aboussad interrupted a presentation by AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, accusing Microsoft of enabling violence in the Middle East. Both employees were subsequently terminated.
The "No Azure for Apartheid" movement, comprising current and former Microsoft employees, has been vocal in opposing the company's contracts that they claim support mass surveillance and AI-driven communication monitoring in Gaza. Microsoft has confirmed providing cloud and AI services to Israel's Defense Ministry but denies that its tools have been used to harm civilians. The company stated that internal and external reviews found "no evidence to date that Microsoft's Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict."
These events underscore the growing internal and external scrutiny over Microsoft's ethical responsibilities in geopolitical conflicts involving its technology.
Source: Anadolu Ajansı Microsoft employee slams leadership at company event over complicity in Israeli 'genocide'