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Rabat – Moroccan software engineer and former Microsoft AI employee Ibtihal Aboussad is sounding the alarm about the United Nations’ upcoming “AI for Good” summit, scheduled for July 8–11.
Aboussad accuses the UN of whitewashing tech companies’ role in enabling Israel’s AI-assisted genocide against Palestinians in Gaza by giving them a platform at the summit.
“These companies provide the cloud infrastructure and AI technologies that allow Israel to accelerate its genocide in Gaza and uphold its regime of apartheid against all Palestinians,” said Aboussad, naming Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, IBM, Cisco, and Palantir as examples of complicit corporations.
She warned that unless these technologies are regulated, their weaponization poses a threat to all of humanity, denouncing the UN’s collaboration with these firms as “UNlawful, UNacceptable, and truly UNbelievable.”
Backed by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, No Azure for Apartheid, and millions across the globe, Aboussad is calling for global pressure on the UN and its member states to end partnerships with genocide-enabling tech companies wherever possible, and to formally designate and regulate AI and cloud computing as dual-use technologies subject to international regulation.
Dual-use designation would mean recognizing that these tools—often marketed as neutral or humanitarian—can serve both civilian and military purposes, including surveillance, targeting, and warfare, just like nuclear materials or chemical agents. Such a classification would subject them to legal controls, export restrictions, and transparency requirements.
“I’m appalled that the United Nations, which is supposed to uphold international law, is now partnering with corporations that are openly violating it,” Aboussad added, urging summit speakers and supporters to either publicly endorse these demands or withdraw if the UN refuses to meet its legal and ethical responsibilities.
This is not the first time Aboussad has made headlines for her outspoken support for Palestine. In April of this year, she was fired by Microsoft after publicly confronting company executives during a live presentation at their Redmond headquarters.
Addressing Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman directly, Aboussad declared, “Mustafa, shame on you. You claim to care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”
Microsoft-enabled atrocities
Aboussad, who directly witnessed Microsoft AI’s provision of tools to the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and Israeli government to surveil and target Palestinians, called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to launch an investigation into corporate capture within the UN system and to sever ties with Microsoft’s UN Affairs offices in Geneva and New York.
“Let’s remind him that Microsoft knowingly provides Israel with customized technology, including AI, that enables its atrocious crimes against Palestinians,” she said.
BDS has identified Microsoft as one of the most complicit companies in Israel’s apartheid regime and ongoing genocide in Gaza, accusing it of knowingly supplying technologies that facilitate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and grave human rights violations.
Microsoft’s complicity extends to deep collaborations with the IOF, Israeli ministries, and the Israeli prison system, which is notorious for documented, systematic torture of Palestinian detainees.
“Microsoft has failed its corporate obligation to prevent genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Its board of directors and executives may face criminal liability for this complicity,” BDS warned, citing the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) legally binding, provisional rulings.
Aboussad concluded by reaffirming her belief that AI can be used for the good of humanity—if and only if it is properly regulated and governed by enforceable legal and ethical frameworks that prevent its weaponization.
“Let’s regulate AI before it’s too late. Palestinians and humanity cannot wait any longer,” she said.
The AI for Good Global Summit brands itself as the UN’s leading platform in showcasing how artificial intelligence can address pressing global challenges. First held in 2017, it is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in collaboration with over 40 UN agencies and aims to promote AI applications aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—from healthcare and poverty reduction to climate action and gender equality.
This year’s program includes the grand finale of the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge, pitch sessions for women entrepreneurs from the Global South, and panels on AI in brain health, including Alzheimer’s treatments—noble causes that risk being undermined by the summit’s silence and whitewashing of AI’s deployment in state violence and genocide.
