Microsoft’s AI security chief, Neta Haiby, faced criticism when she revealed a confidential Teams chat during the Microsoft Build conference. The chat disclosed plans for Walmart to collaborate with Microsoft on deploying AI tools.
Key Points from the Incident
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Internal Concerns: The partnership was highlighted in an internal message from Leigh Samons, a principal cloud solution architect at Microsoft. He expressed concerns about one of Walmart’s tools being "overly powerful" and needing guardrails.
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Walmart’s Enthusiasm: A "distinguished" AI engineer at Walmart stated, "Microsoft is WAY ahead of Google with AI Security. We are excited to go down this path with you."
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Protests at the Conference: The presentation was interrupted by protesters from the No Azure for Apartheid group, who disrupted various events throughout the conference, including Haiby’s session on best security practices.
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Targeting Microsoft Leadership: Protesters specifically called out Sarah Bird, Microsoft’s head of responsible AI, who was unable to attend due to illness. Hossam Nasr, an organizer from No Azure for Apartheid, accused her of "whitewashing crimes committed here."
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Disruption of Keynote Speech: Another protester interrupted a speech by Jay Parikh, head of the CoreAI unit, stating, "Jay, you’re complicit in genocide happening in Gaza… my people are suffering because of you… how dare you talk about AI when my people are suffering… cut ties with Israel." The protester was subsequently removed without incident.
Context of the Backlash
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Employee Concerns: Leigh Samons’ concerns about Walmart’s tool reflect sentiments shared by other employees regarding the company’s involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Legislative Action: In February 2023, President Biden signed an amendment aimed at preventing U.S. aid from funding Israeli military units accused of human rights abuses against Palestinians.
Walmart’s AI Initiative
Walmart launched MyAssistant last summer, designed to assist store associates in summarizing lengthy documents and creating new marketing content. This tool utilizes proprietary data technology and large language models through the Azure OpenAI Service, as detailed in a January press release.
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