Brian Eno, the composer of the Home windows 95 startup sound, has penned an open letter calling for Microsoft to cease offering synthetic intelligence and cloud providers to the Israeli navy. Titled “Not in My Identify,” the letter outlines the corporate’s technological assist for Israel’s Ministry of Protection, as detailed in a Microsoft weblog publish final week. “If you happen to knowingly construct methods that may allow conflict crimes, you inevitably grow to be complicit in these crimes,” wrote Eno. In response, he pledges to donate his charge for the Home windows 95 composition to victims of the assaults in Gaza.
Within the letter, Eno mentioned his unique work with Microsoft “represented a gateway to a promising technological future.” He added, “I by no means would have believed that the identical firm might someday be implicated within the equipment of oppression and conflict.”
Eno cited the Microsoft weblog publish as proof of its collaboration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorities, and the corporate’s “assist of a regime,” he wrote, “that’s engaged in actions described by main authorized students and human rights organisations, the United Nations specialists, and rising numbers of governments from all over the world, as genocidal.”
Eno went on to precise solidarity with Microsoft employees who’ve “finished one thing actually disruptive and refused to remain silent.” Discover his full letter under.
Brian Eno is a longtime critic of Israel and supporter of the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) motion. Via his assist of the Palestinian individuals and the BDS motion, he has typically urged musicians to not play concert events in Israel.
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Not in My Identify: An Open Letter to Microsoft from Brian Eno
Within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, I used to be requested to compose a brief piece of music for Microsoft’s Home windows 95 working system. Thousands and thousands – probably even billions – of individuals have since heard that brief start-up chime—which represented a gateway to a promising technological future. I gladly took on the undertaking as a inventive problem and loved the interplay with my contacts on the firm. I by no means would have believed that the identical firm might someday be implicated within the equipment of oppression and conflict.
At the moment, I’m compelled to talk, not as a compser this time, however as a citizen by the function Microsoft is taking part in in a really completely different form of composition: one which results in surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine.
In a weblog publish dated Could 15, 2025, Microsoft acknowledged that it offers Israel’s Ministry of Defence with “software program, skilled providers, Azure cloud providers and Azure AI providers, together with language translation.” It went on to state that “It is very important acknowledge that Microsoft doesn’t have visibility into how prospects use our software program on their very own servers or different gadgets”. These “providers” assist a regime that’s engaged in actions described by main authorized students and human rights organisations, the United Nations specialists, and rising numbers of governments from all over the world, as genocidal. The collaboration between Microsoft and the Israeli authorities and armed forces isn’t any secret and includes the corporate’s software program being utilized in deadly applied sciences with ‘humorous’ names like ‘The place’s Daddy?’ (- steerage methods for monitoring Palestinians in an effort to blow them up of their houses).
Promoting and facilitating superior AI and cloud providers to a authorities engaged in systemic ethnic cleaning will not be ‘enterprise is common’. It’s complicity. If you happen to knowingly construct methods that may allow conflict crimes, you inevitably grow to be complicit in these crimes.
We now reside in an age the place companies like Microsoft typically command extra affect than governments. I consider that with such an influence comes an absolute moral accountability. Accordingly, I name on Microsoft to droop all providers that assist any operations that contribute to violations of worldwide regulation.
My new begin up chime is that this: stand in solidarity with the courageous Microsoft employees who’ve finished one thing actually disruptive and refused to remain silent. They danger their livelihoods for individuals who have misplaced and can proceed to lose their lives.
I invite artists, technologists, musicians, and all individuals of conscience to hitch me on this name.
I additionally pledge that the charge I initially obtained for that Home windows 95 chime will now go in direction of serving to the victims of the assaults on Gaza. If a sound can sign an actual change then let it’s this one.
