Microsoft says its own review has found no proof that Israel’s military used the company’s Azure cloud computing or artificial-intelligence tools to harm civilians in Gaza.
The conclusion follows an internal and external audit that executives began after employees urged the firm to end its defense contracts with Israel.
In a blog post, Microsoft said its arrangement with the Israel Ministry of Defense, or IMOD, is “a standard commercial relationship.”
The post continued, “We found no evidence that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software, have been used to harm people or that IMOD has failed to comply with our terms of service or our AI Code of Conduct.”
That code requires customers to keep human oversight and access controls so cloud and AI services are not used “in any way that is prohibited by law.” To reach its finding, Microsoft interviewed dozens of employees and examined company records for signs that its products helped target anyone in Gaza.
The company also noted that it has no visibility into how clients run software on their own servers or devices. The audit was made public after a loud protest at Microsoft’s 50th-anniversary celebration on 25 April.
Two former employees went onstage. One called AI chief Mustafa Suleyman a “war profiteer” and demanded the firm “stop using AI for genocide in our region.”
Later, the same event was interrupted again while co-founder Bill Gates, former chief executive Steve Ballmer, and current chief Satya Nadella were speaking.
The protesters, Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal, had earlier emailed thousands of colleagues objecting to the company’s software, cloud storage, and consulting work for the Israeli military. Aboussad was fired, and Agrawal was dismissed soon after submitting her two-week notice.
Both belong to No Azure for Apartheid, a network of current and former Microsoft workers who want the company to cancel its Israeli contracts.
The group argues that Microsoft is “supporting and enabling an apartheid state” because it continues to supply Israel while suspending sales to Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Microsoft denies involvement in military surveillance software
The activists cite reports by The Guardian and the Associated Press, based on leaked documents, that describe the Israeli military’s expanding use of Azure and OpenAI technology for mass surveillance.
Those reports say the army uses AI to transcribe and translate phone calls, texts, and audio messages. One agreement is said to have provided 19,000 hours of engineering support and consultancy worth about ten million dollars.
The company rejects the claim, stating, “Militaries typically use their own proprietary software or applications from defense-related providers for the types of surveillance and operations that have been the subject of our employees’ questions. Microsoft has not created or provided such software or solutions to the IMOD.”
Hossam Nasr, an organizer for No Azure for Apartheid, rejected the firm’s stance in an interview with GeekWire. “There is no form of selling technology to an army that is plausibly accused of genocide whose leaders are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court—that would be ethical,” he said.
Nasr also noted that Microsoft named Israel many times in its post, but “not once did they name Palestinians or Palestinian people or Palestine,” a choice he said shows where the company’s true interests lie.
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