this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary event to protest its use of AI.

“Shame on you,” said Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, speaking directly to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. “You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide. Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands. How dare you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children. Shame on you all.”

Sources at Microsoft tell The Verge that shortly after Aboussad was ushered out of Microsoft’s event, she sent an email to a number of email distribution lists that contain hundreds or thousands of Microsoft employees. Here is Aboussad’s email in full:

archive.today link

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[–] [email protected] 88 points 19 hours ago (6 children)

LinkedIn just deleted her profile, I was following her yesterday: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ibtihalaboussad

[–] [email protected] 49 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

It’s crazy how democracy is now implicitly democracy incorporated(TM) where individuals are silenced for expressing opinions about corporations. Vital institutions for a functioning democracy like media is now owned by big corporations, worse yet, in an increasingly monopolized way, blurring the lines between unelected corporations and elected government (who are also bought by corporations after or before they are elected)

[–] [email protected] 12 points 14 hours ago (4 children)

Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Goes to prove that LinkedIn is just exactly like every other social media platform despite what many people seem to believe.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 18 hours ago

Also, Microsoft owns LinkedIn so that might have something to do with it.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 17 hours ago

LinkedIn as in the website owned by Microsoft? You don't say!

And Microsoft will now just make sure she vant find a job anywhere? You don't say

[–] [email protected] 17 points 18 hours ago

Makes sense its owned by MS

[–] [email protected] 11 points 18 hours ago

Probably the mass reporting coupled with the usual rape and death threats from the deranged zionists.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 18 hours ago

Ballsy move. I hope she's okay.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

What a hero! I hope she is alright.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

She doubled down on video, showing no fear of consequences.

Hero is unquestionably the right word.

[–] [email protected] 136 points 1 day ago

This is such a bold move. Takes courage to speak up from the inside, especially at an event like that. Whether people agree or not, the conversation about the ethics of AI and its real-world consequences needs to happen.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 19 hours ago

GOOD FOR THEM. I AM SO PROUD OF THEM

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 day ago

She is SO BRAVE. Wow. I wish I had half that strength.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 day ago (6 children)

Can anyone ELI5 how they're using AI for genocide? I have awful IT skills so I don't understand AI

[–] [email protected] 66 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

In long.

In short:

The AI system labeled tens of thousands of Gazans, mostly men, as suspected militants, with a 10% error rate, meaning thousands were likely civilians.

Human officers spent ~20 seconds per target, often just confirming gender, before approving airstrikes.

"Where’s Daddy?": A companion AI tracked targets to their homes, prioritizing bombings at night when families were present.

The military authorized 15–20 civilian deaths per low-ranking militant and 100+ for senior Hamas officials

Strikes frequently used unguided munitions, maximizing destruction and civilian harm

Officers admitted acting as "stamps" for AI decisions, with one calling the process "hunting at large"

Additional informations: Project Nimbus

[–] [email protected] 3 points 44 minutes ago

That is seriously dystopian. Wow, what the fuck..

[–] [email protected] 1 points 15 minutes ago

Google and Amazon are mentioned in the Wikipedia article but not Microsoft.

Not defending them, just asking for better evidence.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Holy fuck!

That's fucking awful!

[–] [email protected] 18 points 17 hours ago

this is comedically evil I don't even know what to say

[–] [email protected] 31 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

From the article:

The Israeli military uses Microsoft Azure to compile information gathered through mass surveillance, which it transcribes and translates, including phone calls, texts and audio messages, according to an Israeli intelligence officer who works with the systems.

From my understanding, they use AI to automate the processing of text, audio, and video data collected by the intelligence services.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Stop believing in the veneer of smartness and superiority around these genocidal fuckers.

There is no NON ELI5 explanation here of how they're using AI for genocide, because the truth is horrible, stupid and brutal.

They are using AI because it is the best tool bullshitters have currently to offload blame for things they, individual human beings, chose to do onto obscure abstract entities like corporations, AI decisions and other bullshit.

There is nothing more to it than that, I promise you, it is all just layers of bullshit that is attempting to obscure culpability for participating in a genocide, and honestly it is the perfect technology for that.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

AI is being pushed into war machines big time. America and China are both working on it. With ukraine showing how incredibly effective drones are in warfare, just imagine the damage and destruction a swarm of drones controlled by an AI could cause.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 43 minutes ago

Hey, I’ve seen that episode of Black Mirror!

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

But critics warn the [AI] system is unproven at best — and at worst, providing a technological justification for the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians.

This 2023 article didn’t age well.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 19 hours ago

The critics were right

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