Activists blast Microsoft over AI move, launch protest against Build 2023, want Satya Nadella to do THIS

Ahead of Build 2023, Microsoft is set to face an AI activist group that has denounced the company’s release of AI.

Microsoft Build 2023 will kick off today, May 23. (Unsplash)

Microsoft is all set to kickstart its Build 2023 event today, May 23. The event will showcase the most recent breakthroughs in coding and app development, with the possibility of unveiling Visual Studio, which may have AI capabilities. Following Google's major AI announcements at Google I/O 2023, Microsoft is also expected to announce several AI developments. However, even before Microsoft Build 2023 has kicked off, AI activists are looking to target the tech giant at its annual developer conference.

Campaign against AI

According to a report by thurrott.com, members of the activist group Eko have published a full-page ad in the Seattle Times newspaper, expressing their disapproval of Microsoft's reckless release of AI. Moreover, the activists have also erected a billboard outside near the Microsoft Build 2023 venue. According to the report, the activist group has asked Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to “scale up the company's ethics team and to safeguard Microsoft's AI products, including ChatGPT, from the global harms of disinformation”.

The Eko announcement states, “Just a few weeks after Microsoft made a $10 billion dollar investment and strategic partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, Microsoft reportedly fired its entire ‘Ethics and Society' team whose job it was to make sure the technology was safe to use.” according to the report, the petition in response to this news has already received over 63,000 signatures.

Microsoft Build 2023

According to the schedule, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and 19 other speakers, including Greg Brockman, President and Co-Founder of OpenAI, are expected to make AI, Windows 11, and Bing announcements. The event will showcase the most recent breakthroughs in coding and app development, with the possibility of unveiling Visual Studio, which may have AI capabilities.