Microsoft's 50th birthday celebrationon Friday had some talk about the past, but focused more on the future. In particular, the company's future in AI with Copilot.
There was even a return of the once-hated but now beloved mascot Clippy during the show.
The mood of the show, however, took a turn early in the presentation by Mustafa Suleyman, Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft AI. One Microsoft employee approached Suleyman and the stage to protest the company's AI being used by the Israeli government.
🚨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… pic.twitter.com/PdIqa6TSHoApril 4, 2025
“Shame on you,” Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad told Soleyman as the crowd went silent. “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.”
Aboussad was escorted from the room shortly after her protest.
"Thank you," Suleyman said when Aboussad was led out of the room. "I hear your protest, thank you." He then went on to complete his presentation.
A video of the presentation was uploaded to the Microsoft Copilot YouTube channel, but the protest was edited out at approximately 14:45.
Shortly after her protest, Aboussad sent an email to other company employees explaining her actions, according to The Verge.
"As you might have just seen on the livestream or witnessed in person, I disrupted the speech of Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during the highly-anticipated 50th anniversary celebration," she wrote in her email. "I’ve been a software engineer on Microsoft’s AI Platform org. I spoke up today because after learning that my org was powering the genocide of my people in Palestine, I saw no other moral choice."
The email went on to point out that Microsoft has a $133 million contract with Israel's Ministry of Defense and claims that Microsoft Azure is used by the country for mass surveillance. Aboussad's email went on to say she hopes the voices from other employees will lead to a change that will "correct Microsoft’s actions regarding these human rights violations, to avoid a stained legacy."
A second interruption.
Another protest happened during a different part of the birthday celebration when current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was joined by former CEOs, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal interrupted the conversation the CEOs were having, saying, "You're all hypocrites."
"I'm a Microsoft worker," Agrawal began saying before she was quickly escorted out of the room, while there was a smattering of boos from the crowd. "50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you! Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood!"
"50,000 Palestinians have been murdered with Microsoft technology"Multiple employee protests disrupted the Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration at its Washington headquarters targeting the company's support to Israel pic.twitter.com/CqUGyS1RiWApril 5, 2025
Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the protests.
The company told Associated Press on Friday that it does provide avenues for "all voices to be heard."
“Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption," Microsoft told the AP via a statement. "If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
Microsoft didn't say what action was being taken against the employees, but confirmed that the two have lost access to their work accounts.
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