Artist and musician Brian Eno - who also created the iconic Windows 95 operating system startup sound - today called on Microsoft to "suspend all services that support any actions that violate international law" and said the company plays a major role in "surveillance, violence and destruction in Palestine." This is the latest time the tech giant has come under heavy criticism for its contracts with the Israeli government.
"I happily took on the [Windows 95] project as a creative challenge and enjoyed interacting with my contacts at the company," Eno wrote on Instagram. "I never imagined that this company would one day be entangled in the machinery of oppression and war."
The musician, a former member of the influential rock band Roxy Music who also has a long and storied solo career, singled out Microsoft's contract with the Israeli Defense Ministry. Microsoft acknowledged last week that it had contracts with the Israeli government for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services, but claimed an internal review "found no evidence" that its tools were used to "target or harm the people of Gaza."
Microsoft has been heavily criticized in recent weeks for its business dealings with the Israeli government. The outcry over the Microsoft contract is related to Israel's continued bombing of the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Human rights groups, including a United Nations committee, accuse Israel of war crimes and genocide in its military operation, which has killed thousands; as of this month, Gaza's health ministry has reported more than 52,000 deaths, but some researchers say the death toll could be as high as 109,000.
Some of Microsoft's fiercest critics are its own employees who object to its relationship with Israel.
Earlier this week, multiple stage events were disrupted during Microsoft's developer conference, including CEO Satya Nadella's keynote address on Monday. During the event, Microsoft employee Joe Lopez interrupted Nadella's speech, shouting, "How about you show that Israel's war crimes are driven by Azure?" The next day, a protester described as a "Palestinian tech worker" disrupted another executive's speech. On Wednesday, protesters disrupted a third meeting — and during the commotion, Microsoft inadvertently leaked internal information about Walmart’s use of artificial intelligence.
In April this year, Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad disrupted a Microsoft 50th anniversary celebration and called Microsoft Artificial Intelligence CEO Mustafa Suleyman a "war profiteer." That same day, another employee disrupted another Microsoft event. The protest was organized by the "No Azure for Apartheid" group, which called on Microsoft to terminate its contract with the Israeli government and support demands such as a permanent ceasefire. Abusad was fired from the company; a second protester, Vaniya Agrawal, was fired early after submitting her resignation.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Eno has long been critical of the Israeli government and supports pro-Palestinian efforts. He said on Instagram that he would use the raw proceeds from the Windows 95 startup ringtone to help "the victims of the attacks in Gaza."