Microsoft fires engineers over AI protest at 50th-anniversary event

In context: Microsoft has fired the two employees involved in a protest during the company's recent 50th-anniversary celebration. The termination was attributed to misconduct, as stated in an internal email. Both individuals had previously sent mass emails to thousands of employees, urging the company to end its contracts with the Israeli government. One employee was let go by Microsoft Canada, while the second had already submitted his resignation prior to the demonstration. One of the employees, Ibtihal Aboussad, interrupted a presentation by Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's head of AI, during the anniversary event. Following the incident, she sent an email to various internal distribution lists expressing opposition to the company's involvement with the Israeli military, reaching hundreds or thousands of Microsoft employees, including CEO Satya Nadella, finance chief Amy Hood, and company president Brad Smith. In the email, she claimed that Microsoft's AI technology was being used in ... Read full article.