Microsoft Fires Engineers Who Protested Israel Military AI Use
Microsoft terminated two software engineers, Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal, following their protests at a company event against the Israeli military’s use of Microsoft’s AI technology. Both engineers publicly criticized Microsoft’s involvement during speeches by company executives, resulting in their immediate removal from the event. Microsoft cited “wilful misconduct” and disruption of company events as justification for the terminations, arguing that employees could have raised concerns through internal channels. The company maintained its commitment to ethical business practices while emphasizing the need to avoid business disruptions.
John Q. Hosedrinker