Overview

• Microsoft terminated Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal after they publicly protested the company's AI contracts with the Israeli military during its 50th anniversary event.
• The protests targeted Microsoft's alleged complicity in human rights abuses in Gaza, accusing the company of enabling surveillance and military operations through its AI technology.
• Aboussad interrupted a keynote speech by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, while Agrawal disrupted a Q&A session involving top executives, including Satya Nadella and Bill Gates.
• Microsoft justified the firings by citing the disruptive nature of the protests and emphasizing the need for employees to express dissent through internal, confidential channels.
• The incident reflects ongoing tensions over corporate ethics, employee dissent, and the role of AI in warfare, with similar firings reported in previous years over related protests.