Latest news with #MicrosoftCoreAI
Mint
23-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Vaniya Agrawal, Indian-origin techie, disrupts Microsoft event over Gaza again
Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-American infamous for disrupting Microsoft events in protest against the tech giant's contracts with the Israeli government, once again interrupted proceedings – this time at the Microsoft Build 2025 conference in Seattle. She was joined by another former employee, Hossam Nasr, in continuing her demonstration. The high-profile AI security session was abruptly interrupted on day three of the conference during a keynote led by Neta Haiby, Microsoft's Head of AI Security, and Sarah Bird, Head of Responsible AI. Agrawal and Nasr entered the venue and loudly accused the company of complicity in the ongoing war in Gaza, demanding that Microsoft sever its ties with the Israeli military. The protest marked the third consecutive day of disruptions at the Build 2025 event. On May19, a Microsoft employee interrupted CEO Satya Nadella's keynote speech, criticising the company's relationship with Israel. The following day, a Palestinian tech professional disrupted a session led by Jay Parikh, Executive Vice President of Microsoft CoreAI, urging the company to 'cut ties' with Israel during his Azure AI presentation. This latest disruption is not the first time Vaniya Agrawal has protested at a Microsoft event. In April, Agrawal -- then an engineer in Microsoft's AI division -- confronted the company's current and former CEOs, Satya Nadella, Steve Ballmer, and Bill Gates, at its headquarters in Washington. She accused them of using Microsoft's technology to support what she described as "genocide in the Gaza Strip". Following the confrontation, Agrawal submitted a strongly worded resignation letter, announcing her final day would be 11 April, just days after the incident. In her letter, she wrote that she could no longer work for a company that, in her view, sided with oppressors rather than standing in solidarity with the oppressed. Agrawal also criticised Microsoft's reported $133 million contract with Israel's Ministry of Defence, claiming that the company's AI and Azure cloud services were directly enabling military actions against Palestinians. 'Microsoft cloud and AI make the Israeli military more lethal and destructive in Gaza,' she wrote in a company-wide email shortly after confronting the CEO on stage. Agrawal had joined Microsoft in September 2023 after more than three years at Amazon and had been working in the AI division. Following the April protest, Microsoft dismissed two employees — including Agrawal — who had disrupted the company's 50th anniversary event. The company described their actions as 'hostile, unprovoked, and highly inappropriate'.
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
After Satya Nadella, Microsoft EVP Jay Parikh's speech disrupted by protestor
Pro-Palestine protestors disrupted Microsoft's Build developer conference for the second day in a row. A day after a Microsoft employee interrupted CEO Satya Nadella's keynote address, a tech worker staged a similar protest while Jay Parikh was onstage. Jay Parikh serves as Executive Vice President of Microsoft CoreAI. He was speaking on day 2 of the Build conference in Seattle when a protestor linked to No Azure for Apartheid interrupted his speech. 'Jay! My people are suffering!' the unnamed tech worker yelled. 'Cut ties! No Azure for apartheid! Free, free Palestine!' He was quickly escorted out by security personnel present at the scene. A video of his disruptive protest was shared by No Azure for Apartheid on Instagram. 'Today's disruption - organized by No Azure for Apartheid - follows yesterday's disruptions by Joe Lopez, a Microsoft worker with our No Azure for Apartheid campaign,' the group said. A post shared by No Azure for Apartheid (@noazureforapartheid) Hossam Nasr, an organizer with the protest group, confirmed to The Verge that they helped the tech worker. Nasr refused to name the protestor, only identifying him as a 'Palestinian tech worker'. No Azure for Apartheid has helped disrupt several Microsoft events in the recent past - including Nadella's keynote speech a day earlier. Joe Lopez disrupted the company's opening keynote at Build while Nadella was speaking onstage. He too was quickly escorted out, but not before he managed to yell, ''Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians. How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?' Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform and service created by Microsoft. It has faced criticism from some Palestine protestors and human rights advocates due to its contracts with the Israeli government and military. Just weeks ago, Microsoft fired two employees who staged protests at the company's 50th anniversary event.
