Technology

Microsoft has fired two employees who organized an unauthorized vigil at the company’s headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas. Both workers were members of a coalition of employees called “No Azure for Apartheid” that has opposed Microsoft’s sale of its cloud-computing technology to the Israeli government.

But they contended that Thursday’s event was similar to other Microsoft-sanctioned employee giving campaigns for people in need. Mohamed, who is from Egypt, said he now needs a new job in the next two months to transfer a work visa and avoid deportation.

Google earlier this year fired more than 50 workers in the aftermath of protests over technology the company is supplying the Israeli government amid the Gaza war. The firings stemmed from internal turmoil and sit-in protests at Google offices centered on “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide the Israeli government with cloud computing and artificial intelligence services.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/45637335

The production company behind “Blade Runner 2049” filed a lawsuit Monday against Elon Musk and Tesla, accusing them of copyright infringement while promoting a new self-driving car.

In its lawsuit, Alcon Entertainment says Musk used AI-generated imagery mirroring scenes from its 2017 sci-fi film while presenting Tesla’s new autonomous Robotaxi at a marketing event earlier this month. Producers had denied his request to do so.

“He did it anyway,” the suit alleges, adding that the company denied Musk’s request due to the tech mogul’s “extreme political and social views” that occasionally veer into “hate speech.” Musk enthusiastically endorsed Donald Trump for president, appearing alongside him at a rally earlier this month, and has espoused transphobic views.

https://archive.ph/1Ox0L