WASHINGTON (AP) — Five Microsoft employees were removed from a meeting with the company's CEO for protesting the organization's contracts to supply artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military. The protest occurred on Monday following an Associated Press investigation that disclosed the use of advanced AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI in an Israeli military initiative aimed at selecting bombing targets during the recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The report also highlighted a tragic incident involving an Israeli airstrike in 2023 that mistakenly hit a vehicle carrying a Lebanese family, resulting in the deaths of three young girls and their grandmother. During an employee town hall at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, CEO Satya Nadella was discussing new products when employees standing approximately 15 feet to his right revealed T-shirts that spelled out, "Does Our Code Kill Kids, Satya?" when positioned side by side. Photos and videos of the event, which were live-streamed company-wide, show that Nadella continued speaking without acknowledging the protesters. Two men quickly intervened, tapping the workers on the shoulders and escorting them out. In a statement to the AP, Microsoft said, "We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a manner that does not disrupt business operations. If a disruption occurs, we request that participants relocate. We are dedicated to upholding our business practices to the highest standards. " When asked on Tuesday about potential disciplinary actions against the protesting employees, Microsoft did not respond. The company also refrained from commenting on the AP’s Feb.

18 story regarding its contracts with the Israeli military. In October, Microsoft terminated the employment of two employees for organizing an unauthorized lunchtime vigil for Palestinian refugees at its headquarters. At that time, Microsoft stated the dismissals were in line with internal policy, but did not provide further details. For months, a group of workers has expressed concerns about Microsoft’s provision of services to the Israeli military via its Azure cloud computing platform. Some employees have voiced their support for Israel, stating that those advocating for Palestinian rights have made them feel unsafe. The AP's investigation revealed that the Israeli military's use of AI models through Azure surged nearly 200 times following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The findings were widely shared and discussed among Microsoft employees on social media and within the company’s internal communication channels. In a community forum designed for employees to express concerns to leadership, one employee posted links to the AP report, prompting over a dozen others to question if the company was breaching its stated principles on human rights and the ethical use of its AI technology, as indicated by screenshots reviewed by the AP. Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist who was among those fired after the October vigil, criticized the company's priorities, suggesting that profits are being placed above its human rights obligations. "The demands are clear, " stated Mohamed, a member of a group of Microsoft workers known as No Azure for Apartheid. "Satya Nadella and Microsoft executives need to respond to their employees by terminating contracts with the Israeli military. "