Microsoft’s Head of AI Security Accidentally Reveals Walmart’s Private AI Plans After Pro-Palestine Protest

Microsoft’s annual Build conference didn’t go smoothly, thanks to disruptions by protests of the company’s ties to Israel. After one, a flustered Microsoft employee accidentally displayed confidential messages about Walmart’s AI expansion. Former Microsoft software engineers Hossam Nasr and Vaniya Agrawal interrupted a presentation on best security practices for AI as part of planned protests by No Azure for Apartheid, an organization denouncing Microsoft selling its products and services for use by the Israeli government and military, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza since October 2023. The talk was delivered by Neta Haiby, head of AI security, and Sarah Bird, head of responsible AI. The presentation’s livestream was muted, and the camera turned away to avoid broadcasting the disruption. However, the Verge reported that Nasr shouted, “Sarah, you are whitewashing the crimes of Microsoft in Palestine, how dare you talk about responsible AI when Microsoft is fuel ... Read full article.