Microsoft AI employee accuses CEO of ‘genocide’ support

A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary event, accusing its AI chief of enabling “genocide” in Gaza.

By World Israel News Staff

An anti-Israel Microsoft employee disrupted an event celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary on Friday, shouting at a prominent executive that he was complicit in the Israeli “genocide” in Gaza.

During a speech by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman about the tech titan’s vision for the future, a woman suddenly began yelling from the audience.

“Mustafa, shame on you,” Ibtihal Aboussad screamed, according to an NBC News report. Abouassad was identified by the network as an employee of Microsoft AI’s speech recognition engine team.

“You claim that you care for using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military,” she continued.

“Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region,” she added.

At multiple points during Abouassad’s outburst, Suleyman repeated “thank you for your protest” and “I hear you.”

But Suleyman’s words did not subdue Abouassad. “Shame on you. You are a war profiteer,” she shouted.

“Stop using AI for genocide, Mustafa. Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands. Microsoft is killing children. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands.”

Abouassad was then ejected from the event by security guards. Suleyman appeared rattled by the exchange.

According to an AP report, former Microsoft CEO and founder Bill Gates and current CEO Satya Nadella were in the audience at the time of the disruption.

In an email viewed by CNBC that Abouassad sent to Microsoft executives after the event, she wrote that she “did not sign up to write code that violates human rights.”

Within the missive, Abouassad repeated her claims that Microsoft’s support for alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza, saying that he had “no other moral choice” but to speak out during the event.

“We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a media statement after the incident. “If that happens, we ask participants to relocate.”

The tech company did not say if it would discipline Abouassad over the incident.