UDPATE, 9:58 a.m. PT: Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was interrupted during a presentation at the software giant’s headquarters that was livestreamed by a protestor slamming Microsoft for AI tools used by military forces involved in the war in Gaza.
Suleyman was in the midst of an effusive pitch for a host of new features that Microsoft is adding to its AI “companion” software Copilot when a young woman in a hijab walked up to him on stage shouting about Gaza.
“You claim that you care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. 50,000 people have died,” she said. “You claim that you care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. 50,000 people have died, and Microsoft, all of Microsoft, has blood on its hands. How do you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children? Shame on you.” The woman also held a checkered scarf indicating support for the Palestinian cause.
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“Stop using AI for genocide, Mustafa,” she said as she exited. “Stop using AI for genocide in our world.”
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The woman, later identified by the Associated Press and others as Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, was hustled out by Microsoft personnel without further incident but her shouts could be heard throughout the tent erected at the company’s headquarters for the presentation. Suleyman stayed cool during the incident — telling Aboussad, “I hear your protest.” According to published reports, Aboussad has worked as an engineer for Microsoft AI for three and a half years.
The presentation was interrupted a second time later when a small group of about 30 protesters who made it onto Microsoft’s campus-like headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Muffled sounds of their “Free Free Palestine” chants and loud drumming could be heard inside the tented presentation area where three pivotal figures in Microsoft history — former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer and current boss Satya Nadella — shared memories about the company.
Suleyman stayed remarkably composed during the incident. He finished his lengthy presentation, wrapping up with a talkshow-type bit with two everyday Copilot users, Elvira and Chris and the latter’s big fluffy Newfoundland dog.
In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said of the protest interruptions: “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
Watch a video of the protestor at the Microsoft event:
The protest that gathered outside the Copilot presentation came while actress Brenda Song was hosting an assembly-like session for Microsoft employees that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the company’s founding on April 4, 1975. Redmond police were called in to disperse the crowd, which happened without incident alongside Microsoft security.
Most of the several hundred people who attended the live presentation seemed largely unfazed by the interruptions. The conversation after the event was mostly about the scope and complexity of the AI tools that the company unveiled.
EARLIER:
Microsoft is stepping up its effort to persuade consumers to embrace its Copilot AI-powered software that is designed to function as the world’s most intuitive and proactive personal assistant. Microsoft’s top AI executive called it nothing less than “a new kind of relationship with technology.”
Microsoft’s significant investments in artificial intelligence to date include the Copilot software suite, first introduced in 2023. On Friday, the tech giant unveiled a wide range of upgrades and new features. The goal is to encourage users to authorize Copilot applications to monitor their online lives in order to become ever better at anticipating an individual user’s needs and tastes. Microsoft is pitching Copilot to consumers as no mere a chatbot or a carefully programmed AI agent — but rather as a personal “companion.”
“It remembers not just what you said, but who you are,” Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, wrote in post on Microsoft’s official blog announcing the news.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella introduced the presentation on the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, Wash., with fanfare on the same day the tech giant hosted a 50th anniversary celebration for employees. Nadella opened the Copilot presentation with a video demonstrating how he used Copilot research tools to help learn how to build a modern-day version Microsoft’s first-ever product in 1975, the code for the pioneering Altair BASIC operating system.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and its longtime No. 2 Steve Ballmer were in the audience in a tent erected on the expansive cricket field on the campus. Nadella called Microsoft “a company that has truly changed the world.”
He hailed Gates and Ballmer, who were both his predecessors as the company’s chief executive, as having the vision to lead the startup credited with “creating an entirely new sector for our economy” — namely software to power personal computers. Nadella told that crowd that 50 years is a milestone for any company. But in technology, he observed, industry clout is defined “not about longevity but relevance.” The fact that billions of people around the world use Microsoft tools gives it a rare level of influence around the wrold.
“It’s not about what we build but what we empower others to build,” Nadella said.
With an emphasis on AI tools that handle personal shopping needs and basic errands, the Copilot presentation touted a list of top digital commerce players as official launch partners for the new shopping functions: 1-800-Flowers.com, Booking.com, Expedia, Kayak, OpenTable, Priceline, Tripadvisor, Skyscanner, Viator and Vrbo.
Microsoft offered examples of Copilot services running in the background while the user does other work to perform research tasks, make restaurant reservations, handle simple to-do lists and even tap into the user’s camera to analyze the health of house plants.
Another feature creates “bespoke” podcasts for users by scraping their digital files for audio and video material. The software also can create on-demand audio content in podcast form on topics of interest to the user.
“Copilot helps you stay organized, think clearly, learn more intuitively. It’s there when you need a quick factual answer, a long exploratory debate or when you fancy just downloading after a hard day,” Suleyman wrote.
“Copilot will understand you in the context of your life, and show up, on your terms, in the right way at the right time. This is far richer, more dynamic, supportive and emergent than any software we’ve seen before. It’s a new kind of relationship with technology, a new era.”
Microsoft’s materials emphasize that the software only works with the opt-in permission of the individual user. (“You remain in control,” Suleyman writes.) And it emphasizes that AI computing power can help enhance an individual’s online security. But it will still be an uphill climb to convince some users to open the digital lives to generative AI.
Copilot is gradually being integrated into a host of Microsoft software products and operating systems. There are pro-level versions available for $20 per month.
Through its business partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft has emerged as a force in the new frontier of generative artificial intelligence. Microsoft’s sheer size and scope allows it to invest in the consumer-oriented Copilot service as well as Azure AI Foundry, an app-building service, and Microsoft Fabric, a data-analytics platform that facilitates shared access among teams.
Among the Copilot extensions unveiled Friday at a media event at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington:
Memory and Personalization: Users who give permission to run Copilot with the Memory setting will train the AI agent to “remember important details: your favorite food, the types of films you enjoy and your nephew’s birthday, and his interests,” the post states. “As you interact with Copilot, it notes your preferences, building a richer user profile and offering tailored solutions, proactive suggestions and timely reminders. Copilot prioritizes security and privacy, giving you control through the user dashboard and the option to choose which types of information it remembers about you or to opt out entirely.”
Actions: This feature allows the AI service to “take action on your behalf,” Microsoft said, with “simple chat prompts to ask Copilot to book event tickets, grab dinner reservations, or send a thoughtful gift to a friend and it will check that task off your list.”
Camera: The integration of the user’s camera with AI tools is now available on mobile and desktop platforms. “Copilot and your phone’s camera now enable an interactive experience with the real world, in real time. From the Copilot app on your phone, you can look around at your surroundings and request information, guidance or ideas.”
Pages: This function “provides a way to organize your thoughts and content from chaos to calm.” It’s focused on assembling “all your scattered notes, content, research — whatever it is — and puts it in a canvas that Copilot organizes, simplifies and helps you with your first rough draft to your very final edits.”
Podcasts: In a nod to the popularity of podcasts and audio entertainment, Copilot now has a feature that can craft “AI-powered podcasts that curate and deliver personalized audio content based on your interests,” Microsoft said. “Copilot can create a personalized podcast to analyze and compare options like with a vacation plan or home purchase or you can provide content to Copilot like a study or specific web sites and Copilot will generate a podcast that helps explain the topic. While listening, you can continue to talk and interact with Copilot to learn more and keep the conversations going.”
Shopping: The sales pitch here is clear: “Doing the research, building comparisons, offering advice. It lets you know about price drops and sales and will let you purchase directly from the app.”
Deep Research: This feature facilitates analysis and organization of documents and images. It’s designed to conduct “complex, multi-step research tasks more efficiently — shaving hours off the time it would normally take to complete.”
Suleyman concluded his post by reiterating that Copilot aims to balance the level of human vs. machine concerns raised by generative AI with a clear template that gives users the yea or nay on opting in to specific services and tasks.
“An AI companion is completely personal, built around individual needs, values and expectations,” he wrote. “We’re focusing on one critical goal: to make [Copilot] truly yours. Each will have its own unique style and blend of attributes that distinctly suit each and every one of us. All the while, we’ll stick to our core promise. You remain in control, you are the pilot and you make the calls and set the boundaries.”
(Pictured top: Former Microsoft leaders Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer with CEO Satya Nadella at Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration)
