Overview

• Joe Lopez, a Microsoft engineer, interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote at the Build conference, accusing the company of complicity in Palestinian deaths through its Azure technology.
• The employee protest coincided with ongoing demonstrations by the worker-led group No Azure for Apartheid, which has criticized Microsoft’s contracts with the Israeli military for over a year.
• Microsoft has confirmed providing AI and Azure technologies to the Israeli Ministry of Defense but maintains that internal and external reviews found no evidence of misuse in targeting civilians.
• Reports, including a February Associated Press investigation, allege extensive use of Microsoft’s AI in Israeli military operations, including strike planning and intelligence activities.
• Activists and employees are demanding full transparency, including the release of Microsoft’s internal review, as the company acknowledges limited visibility into customer-hosted deployments.