Microsoft says there is no evidence of this, and artificial intelligence models have harmful people in Gaza

Once again, Big Tech is scrutinized to its role in the genocide of Israel against the Palestinians. Recently, the sale of Microsoft for artificial intelligence models and cloud computing services to the Israeli army has prompted a series of protests led by workers. But now, Microsoft says there is no evidence that its products have been used to harm people in Gaza. At least it is not as much as you can check Microsoft.

Thursday, Microsoft Declare It conducted internal and external reviews in the use of the defense of the Ministry of Israel for its products, and wrote, “We take these concerns seriously.” The company continued that it has not yet found any evidence that the technologies of Microsoft Azure and AI were used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza. “

Microsoft did not clarify the company with which it contracted for external review. It also did not provide details about the operation outside the statement that it included “an interview with dozens of employees and the evaluation of documents.” However, the company added that its reviews are limited. It has no vision in how to use programs on special servers or out of the cloud systems.

Tensions have risen in Microsoft since a February report It revealed the amount of $ 133 million with Israel. According to AP News, Israel’s use of Microsoft and Openai has increased nearly 200 times after the Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The army specifically uses the Microsoft Cloud platform, Azure, to collect information obtained through collective control, such as phone calls or texts, which transmit the system. In general, you store more than 13.6 data on Microsoft servers, which, as AP News explained, is about 350 times more than required for the entire Congress Library.

Last year, Microsoft He launched two employees To organize a “unauthorized” promise on the anniversary of the Palestinians who were killed in Gaza. In February, Microsoft also expelled five employees from the City Council meeting To protest its Israeli contracts. Then last month, Ibtihal AbousSad, a software engineer on the Microsoft AI platform team, to stop The company’s head of artificial intelligence during the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary.

“Shame on you,” said Abu Sad. “You are importing war. Stop using artificial intelligence for genocide. Stop using artificial intelligence in genocide in our area. You have blood on your hands. Both Microsoft have blood on her hands. How dare to celebrate her when you kill Microsoft children.

freedom I mentioned AbousSad also sent an email to the distribution lists with hundreds of thousands of Microsoft employees. She wrote: “Microsoft Cloud and AI The Israeli Army enabled it to be more deadly and destroyed in Gaza than they could, and urged people to sign a petition not to adhere to the apartheid,” We will not write a symbol. “

The company’s publication comes just one week before the Seattle Conference where No Azure to separate the apartheid You intend to protest. On its blog, Microsoft also said that the Israeli army is linked to the conditions of its use, which “requires customers to implement responsible artificial intelligence practices” and “prohibits” the use of its techniques “in any way that causes harm to individuals or organizations or affects individuals in any way that the law prohibits.”

This assertion is responsibility when looking at the Israeli record. Last year, a group of independent human rights experts He said “Israel has been publicly challenged by international law again and again, which led to the maximum suffering of civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories and beyond.” This includes killing, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement, bombing of vital institutions such as hospitals, targeting health care workers, journalists, and humanitarian workers, and intentionally destroying food systems as a means of war, according to the detail of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In addition, Israel commits genocide, a war crime. the identification The Geneva Convention includes specific measures “committed with the intention of destruction, completely or partially, a national, ethnic, racist or religious group.” Last month, the Ministry of Health in Gaza stated that deaths are in the region Now exceeds 50,000. In addition, Reuters analysis found that Israel It was completely eliminated At least 1,200 families. Although some argue that Israel’s actions do not fulfill the “intention of destruction”, its response to the October 7 attacks More than 5,000 people were killed In the first week, severe violence It caused a major shift for many experts. South Africa officially The genocide was brought in Against Israel last year.

Big Tech has provided Israel for years, as with Google and Amazon’s Nimpos Project. Microsoft can try to reduce its role by saying that its technology was not used directly for damage. Even if this is true, its technologies allow the Israeli army to expand its destruction to Palestine and its people.