Microsoft confirm they've supplied AI tech to the Israeli military for use in Gaza, following BDS Xbox boycott

But they've recovered "no evidence" it's being utilized to people oregon harm Palestinians

Microsoft person yet breached their soundlessness implicit reports astir the usage of Azure and Microsoft generative AI tech by the Israeli subject during the latter’s on-going penetration and bombardment of Gaza, which has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

In an unsigned connection published 15th May 2025, Microsoft corroborate that they person supplied exertion to the Israeli equipped forces during the battle connected Gaza, which began pursuing the sidesplitting and abduction of Israeli civilians connected October 7th 2023. They contend, however, that their ain interior reporting has recovered "no grounds to day that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies person been utilized to people oregon harm radical successful the struggle successful Gaza." The quality comes a fewer weeks aft the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions question called connected radical to debar Microsoft games and gaming services successful protestation astatine the company’s dealings with the Israel Defense Forces.

According to respective investigations earlier this year, including a sizeable February study from the Associated Press, the IDF person made usage of Microsoft’s generative AI services extensively for combat and quality activities since October 2023. This includes the alleged usage of genAI models to analyse and hole information for the intent of targeting airstrikes. The AP probe - which is based connected interviews with existent and erstwhile members of Microsoft and the Israeli equipped forces, unneurotic with interior institution information and documents - besides discusses the Israeli military's narration with different large tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Palantir, Cisco, and Oracle.

These reports person intensified fears among galore Microsoft unit that their enactment is being utilized arsenic an instrumentality of warfare and oppression. Back successful May 2024, Microsoft workers launched a petition, "No Azure for Apartheid," demanding an autarkic audit for imaginable quality rights violations. Microsoft enactment person taken a hard enactment with certain, much disposable protests astir the merchantability of Microsoft services to the Israeli military. In April this year, they fired 2 radical who spoke retired astatine institution day events.

Now, Microsoft are trying to reassure those who remain. In the blog post, Microsoft denote the completion of an interior reappraisal of claims that Microsoft exertion has been utilized "to people civilians oregon origin harm successful the struggle successful Gaza," with "additional fact-finding" supplied by an outer firm. The blog station comments that Microsoft’s proviso of tech to the Israel Ministry of Defense is "structured arsenic a modular commercialized relationship," and is truthful taxable to their acceptable usage argumentation and AI Code of Conduct, unneurotic with their wide committedness to quality rights. Microsoft accidental that, based connected "both our interior assessments and outer review," they’ve recovered nary grounds that the Israeli equipped forces person failed to comply with either document.

The blog besides notes that subject organisations "typically usage their ain proprietary bundle oregon applications from defense-related providers for the types of surveillance and operations that person been the taxable of our employees’ questions." Microsoft, it says, person not created thing similar this for the IMOD.

The blog adds, however, that Microsoft did supply the IMOD with "special access" to their technologies successful the people of "limited exigency enactment to the Israeli authorities successful the weeks pursuing October 7, 2023, to assistance rescue hostages". Microsoft accidental they retained "significant oversight" during this period, "including support of immoderate requests and denial of others," truthful arsenic "to assistance prevention the lives of hostages portion besides honoring the privateness and different rights of civilians successful Gaza."

The station besides caveats that Microsoft bash not person afloat consciousness of however the Israeli subject whitethorn person utilized immoderate Microsoft exertion that runs connected their ain servers. "This is typically the lawsuit for connected premise software," it argues. "Nor bash we person visibility to the IMOD’s authorities unreality operations, which are supported done contracts with unreality providers different than Microsoft. By definition, our reviews bash not screen these situations."

It’s an highly little effect to a lengthy and disturbing bid of claims, which expects the scholar to instrumentality a batch connected trust. The blog station does not see the afloat substance of Microsoft’s interior and outer assessments, nor does it respond to the item of the allegations made by the Associated Press and different publications. It doesn’t adjacent sanction the steadfast hired to transportation retired "additional fact-finding" for their review.

The No Azure for Apartheid question person already called connected Microsoft to merchandise a afloat transcript of their interior review. "It's precise wide that their volition with this connection is not to really code their idiosyncratic concerns, but alternatively to marque a PR stunt to whitewash their representation that their narration with the Israeli subject has tarnished," erstwhile Microsoft idiosyncratic Hossam Nasr argues successful a statement, circulated by Israeli paper Haaretz.

Nasr and his workfellow Abdo Mohamed were themselves fired by Microsoft past year, aft they helped organise a vigil astatine the company's office for Palestinians killed successful Gaza. They’ve since joined the BDS boycott connected Xbox and Microsoft gaming products, which you tin work much astir connected the authoritative BDS site.