NO AZURE FOR APARTHEID DISRUPTS MICROSOFT-SPONSORED CONFERENCE ON "ETHICS" AND AI AT SEATTLE UNIVERSITY

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Hossam Nasr, No Azure for Apartheid organizer, and former tech worker fired by Microsoft

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Anna Hattle, No Azure for Apartheid organizer, and current Microsoft worker

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Vaniya Agrawal, No Azure for Apartheid organizer, and former tech worker who was fired from Microsoft

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NO AZURE FOR APARTHEID DISRUPTS MICROSOFT-SPONSORED CONFERENCE ON "ETHICS" AND AI AT SEATTLE UNIVERSITY; SUCCESSFULLY KICKS OUT MICROSOFT REPS

SEATTLE, WA – Multiple current and former Microsoft workers with the No Azure for Apartheid (NoAA) campaign, along with members of the Seattle community, successfully disrupted the conference titled "Ethics and Tech Conference 2025: Governing AI," yesterday, hosted by Seattle University, with Microsoft as its title sponsor. Protesters successfully forced the two Microsoft representatives at the conference to leave the venue after creating a significant disruption. Mike Jackson, Microsoft's Associate General Counsel and Head of Governance at the Office of Responsible AI, and Teresa Hutson, Corporate Vice President of the Trusted Technology Group at Microsoft, were both scheduled to speak, but neither were able to. Protesters continued to rally outside the venue afterwards.

The first session of the conference was titled "Democracy, fundamental rights and the global picture," and featured Mike Jackson. As Jackson was presenting, a protester stood up and asked, "How can you come here and talk about ethics when Microsoft is selling code and AI to Israel, who are committing genocide in Gaza? How can you talk about respecting human rights when the genocide has gone on for over a year and a half?" The protester continued asking Jackson questions about the use of Microsoft's AI weapons in Gaza as the event organizers tried to shut him down.

The protester continued for nearly three minutes. Meanwhile, Jackson vacated the stage, and multiple protesters with NoAA then flooded the stage in Pigott Auditorium, unfurling two banners which read "ISRAEL OFF AZURE" and "IRRESPONSIBLE AI FOR GENOCIDE: END ALL CONTRACTS WITH ISRAEL NOW!" Protesters also chanted, "Microsoft you can't hide, you're supporting genocide" and "Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!"

Shortly after, conference organizers ushered the entire audience out of the auditorium and into the atrium. Protesters followed the crowd into the atrium, holding Palestinian flags and the two banners. One protester, a former Microsoft worker, addressed the crowd.

"Seattle University should be ashamed for inviting Microsoft to this conference," he said. "We are asking you to leave, ask for a refund, and refuse to participate in this conference that is inviting Microsoft to lecture us about tech ethics while they enable a genocide in Palestine."

Dozens of attendees listened, and the crowd thinned significantly as the protest continued. NoAA estimated about a third of all conference attendees left at that point.

In response, Seattle University called the Seattle Police Department and repeatedly threatened to arrest the protesters. The protesters remained inside the building for about an hour before they were informed that all the Microsoft representatives in the conference had left. Both Mike Jackson and Teresa Hutson were both successfully prevented from speaking. Emily McReynolds, the Head of Global AI Strategy at Adobe, who was scheduled to speak with Hutson, had also left. At that point, protesters chose to leave the venue voluntarily, and continued to rally outside the building for another hour.

"We shut it down. Our actions forced the conference to grind to a halt, " said Vaniya Agrawal, former Microsoft worker and NoAA organizer, whose name is censored on company emails. “The executives cowered away as we made it clear: we won’t stop until Microsoft and its partners are held accountable. This isn’t just about disrupting business as usual. This is about calling out the hypocrisy, the racism, and violence of a company that brands itself as a force for the good of all while providing the servers behind the war machine."

Shortly after protesters left the building, other NoAA members released clusters of balloons with sound disruption devices attached into the atrium of Pigott Auditorium where most remaining conference-goers were still present, adding significant additional disruption to the conference.

In addition to Seattle University kicking out the protesters and threatening them with arrest, they also censored questions related to Gaza. Conference organizers virtually collected questions to be answered at the conclusion of the conference. Questions related to Gaza and Microsoft's involvement in the genocide of Palestinians were repeatedly asked and voted to the top of the queue. Instead of allowing open dialogue, conference organizers actively deleted such questions from the queue, eventually disabling the question feature entirely. One of the deleted questions read: "Can you speak to the decision to have Microsoft be a title sponsor of this conference? Is it not hypocritical given Microsoft powers genocide in Palestine?"

During the roundtable at the end of the conference, Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver opted to avoid online or in-person questions from the audience, and only asked pre-screened questions.

This is when yet another protester stood up to demand they answer these questions. She interrupted the roundtable to call out Seattle University's hypocrisy given their Jesuit roots: "The pope was calling Gaza every day!" As the protester was being asked to leave, she responded: "They're not even taking questions! They're censoring every voice."

Just after the Seattle University president had finished praising the university and its security for "de-escalating" situations, he publicly verbally threatened the protester with arrest. In response, she said on her way out, “There are no universities left in Gaza!... What if it was your child under the rubble?"

Asked about the significance of disrupting this conference, NoAA organizers did not mince any words.

"This conference symbolizes Microsoft's attempts at using 'responsible' and 'ethical' AI language to whitewash its complicity in the Israeli genocide in Palestine, powered using Microsoft AI technologies, " said Hossam Nasr, former Microsoft worker and NoAA organizer. "We could not stay silent and allow this conference to continue."

Seattle University was not spared either.

"Academics that are supposed to be pursuing truth and critically examining reality have a responsibility to confront the complicity of the entities they are adjacent to rather than entertaining, flattering, and platforming them, " said Anna Hattle , current Microsoft worker and NoAA organizer. "Whether they're trying to avoid making enemies, save a cushy career in the industry, or preserve funding for their events, they're selling out."*

The disruption of this "ethics" in AI conference is the latest of many No Azure for Apartheid protests that have escalated in recent months. In February, NoAA silently protested a town hall with Satya Nadella, as NoAA members donned shirts that read "Does Our Code Kill Kids, Satya?" In March, NoAA disrupted an event in the Seattle Town Hall to celebrate Microsoft's 50th anniversary. In April, two NoAA members and Microsoft workers, Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal, were fired after protesting Mustafa Suleyman, Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, and Steve Ballmer during the Microsoft 50th anniversary event. And last month, NoAA shut down Build, Microsoft's premier developer conference, with multiple disruptions throughout the course of the week, resulting in the firing of Joe Lopez.

These protests follow multiple credible reports, including an admission from Microsoft, that they have been supplying deadly technology to the Israeli military to power the genocide in Palestine. NoAA refuses to allow Microsoft to continue profiting from the death and destruction of the Palestinian people and Gaza. In response, Microsoft has continued to respond with retaliation, intimidation, and repression. Since October of last year, Microsoft has fired NoAA organizers Hossam Nasr, Abdo Mohamed, Vaniya Agrawal, Ibtihal Aboussad, and Joe Lopez for speaking up about Palestine. Last month, Microsoft was caught taking the drastic measure of censoring any emails that contained the terms "Palestine," "apartheid," "genocide," "IOF off Azure," or even "Vaniya Agrawal." And most recently, Microsoft has placed yet another employee and NoAA member, Nisreen Jaradat, on indefinite suspension after she sent an email protesting that same suppression and censorship.

In spite of these repressive tactics, NoAA remains steadfast in its mission and is determined to get Microsoft to end its contracts with the apartheid Israeli state.

"Contrary to Microsoft's estimations, their repression has only served to fan the flames of dissent," said Anna Hattle*. "Every attempt at suppression has only strengthened the movement and encouraged workers to fight harder for what is right. As long as Microsoft continues to try to launder its reputation, workers will continue to hold the company accountable for its complicity and for the shameless way it clings to a crumbling facade of having any commitment to ethics, human rights, or human decency."

NOAA will be relentless in continuing its campaign against Microsoft until their core demands are met:

1 IOF off Azure: End Microsoft’s complicity in Israeli genocide and apartheid by terminating all Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government.

2 Disclose all ties: Make all ties to the Israeli state, military, and tech industry publicly known, including weapons manufacturers and contractors. Conduct a transparent and independent audit of Microsoft’s technology contracts, services, and investments.

3 Call for a ceasefire: Honor the demands of over 1,000 employees who signed a petition calling on Microsoft’s leadership to publicly endorse an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

4 Protect employees: Ensure the safety of Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and allied employees by protecting pro-Palestinian speech, actions, and fundraising initiatives on internal company platforms.

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Views expressed by current Microsoft workers are expressly their own views alone and do not represent the views of the company.