Microsoft’s annual shareholder meeting Friday played out as if on a split screen: executives describing a future where AI cures diseases and secures networks, and shareholder proposals warning of algorithmic bias, political censorship, and complicity in geopolitical conflict.

One shareholder, William Flaig, founder and CEO of Ridgeline Research, quoted two authorities on the topic — George Orwell’s 1984 and Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot — in requesting a report on the risks of AI censorship of religious and political speech.

Flaig invoked Orwell’s dystopian vision of surveillance and thought control, citing the Ministry of Truth that “rewrites history and floods society with propaganda.” He then turned to Copilot, which responded to his query about an AI-driven future by noting that “the risk lies not in AI itself, but in how it’s deployed.”

In a Q&A session during the virtual meeting, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company is “putting the person and the human at the center” of its AI development, with technology that users “can delegate to, they can steer, they can control.”

Nadella said Microsoft has moved beyond abstract principles to “everyday engineering practice,” with safeguards for fairness, transparency, security, and privacy.

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chair and president, said broader societal decisions, like what age kids should use AI in schools, won’t be made by tech companies. He cited ongoing debates about smartphones in schools nearly 20 years after the iPhone.

“I think quite rightly, people have learned from that experience,” Smith said, drawing a parallel to the rise of AI. “Let’s have these conversations now.”

Microsoft’s board recommended that shareholders vote against all six outside proposals, which covered issues including AI censorship, data privacy, human rights, and climate. Final vote tallies have yet to be released as of publication time, but Microsoft said shareholders turned down all six, based on early voting. 

While the shareholder proposals focused on AI risks, much of the executive commentary focused on the long-term business opportunity. 

Nadella described building a “planet-scale cloud and AI factory” and said Microsoft is taking a “full stack approach,” from infrastructure to AI agents to applications, to capitalize on what he called “a generational moment in technology.”

Microsoft CFO Amy Hood highlighted record results for fiscal year 2025 — more than $281 billion in revenue and $128 billion in operating income — and pointed to roughly $400 billion in committed contracts as validation of the company’s AI investments.

Hood also addressed pre-submitted shareholder questions about the company’s AI spending, pushing back on concerns about a potential bubble. 

“This is demand-driven spending,” she said, noting that margins are stronger at this stage of the AI transition than at a comparable point in Microsoft’s cloud buildout. “Every time we think we’re getting close to meeting demand, demand increases again.”

Federal employees are picking up flexible gig jobs and investing more time in their side hustle to help make ends meet through the longest government shutdown on record.

And with many missing their second full paycheck this week, more feds are likely to explore back up sources of income while navigating a patchwork of rules that govern outside work for federal employees.

Federal employees are generally allowed to accept outside employment, so long as the job doesn’t conflict with their official position. The Office of Government Ethics maintains general standards on outside activities for federal employees. OGE has also published guidance specific to employees who are in non-pay status during a shutdown.

But each agency also has its own rules and processes for staff seeking outside employment. Most agencies advise employees to consult with an agency ethics officer before taking a second job.

“What it comes down to is that you can’t work for anybody that does any business with your agency, that wants to do business with your agency, that’s regulated by your agency, that has interests that might be affected by what your agency does, or in particular, what you do,” Erik Snyder, a federal employment attorney, told Federal News Network.

“The safest thing to do is to ask your ethics officer what is and what is not OK,” he added.

But ethics officials may also be furloughed during the shutdown, making it difficult to clear an outside job in advance. The Defense Department’s furlough guidance advises employees to consult with their agencies on any outside jobs once the shutdown is over.

“Once employees return to their federal employment, they should consult with agency ethics officials to discuss whether their outside employment during the lapse would require them not to work on matters involving their former employer for a period of one year,” the DoD guidance states. “If an employee is going to continue outside employment after returning to federal service, it is vital that the employee meet with an ethics official to ensure that the outside employment does not create a conflicting interest with the employee’s federal duties.”

Still, most rank-and-file employees are unlikely to run afoul of ethics rules by, for instance, taking a second job driving for Uber or pet sitting on Rover. The job site Indeed Flex surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults impacted by the shutdown last month and found 30% are using gig app platforms to quickly make money.

Even excepted employees, such as air traffic controllers, have started exploring gig work during their off-hours.

“People are finding they’re having to supplement their income by any means necessary, and what flexible work does, what these gig apps do, it allows people to maintain their full-time job, but be able to pick up gigs, pick up work that fits around their work life schedules to enable to earn more money,” Novo Constare, CEO and co-founder of IndeedFlex, told The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton in a recent interview.

Meanwhile, 43% of those surveyed by Indeed Flex said they were seeking remote or freelance opportunities, while 30% are looking for administrative, clerical, customer service, or call center work.

“They were looking for flexible work that suited or match their current skill set,” Constare said.

Meanwhile, some furloughed feds have also delved into side projects during the shutdown. A furloughed IRS attorney, for instance, had intended to run a hot dog cart on the weekends. But once the shutdown hit, he took it full time.

But even passion projects come with ethics rules. A DoD official, who for years has run a craft business during nights and weekends, described the detailed financial disclosure requirements and ethics training that comes with a side hustle. Senior government officials are subject to more rigorous requirements and restrictions around outside employment.

“They take it very seriously,” the official, who requested anonymity, told Federal News Network.

While hot dog carts and wood crafting are unlikely to trip ethics restrictions, feds should be more careful about side hustles that are more closely related to their official job duties. For instance, some furloughed feds may be exploring doing consulting in their area of expertise.

Michael Fallings, managing partner at law firm Tully Rinckey, said there isn’t any blanket prohibition on such work. But feds should be mindful of any potential conflicts of interest.

“If you’re an attorney representing the government, and you start a business representing individuals that may compete against the government, then that could be a conflict” Fallings said. “It could be allowable. It does depend on what the nature of the second business or the consulting is, but it’s always best to disclose that to your employer, rather than the employer finding out after the fact.”

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