A protester briefly disrupted the keynote presentation that marked the start of the Google I/O developer conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Protesters Disrupt Google I/O (Updated)
“You need to develop a conscience, Google.”
As Android’s director of engineering, Dave Burke, talked about the increased battery efficiency of its new Android mobile operating system, dubbed “L,” a woman popped up at the front of the room, shouting, “You need to develop a conscience, Google,” and holding up a white T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan.
The woman was escorted from the room, as rows of technology press stood at their seats to snap photos. Meanwhile, Burke departed from his scripted presentation to acknowledge the scene, saying L offers enhanced battery life — “even during protests.”
The keynote as disrupted a second time an hour later, when another protester stood and shouted, “You all work for a totalitarian company that builds robots that kill people…wake the f–k up.” He too, was escorted from the room.
It was not immediately clear who mounted the protest. However, the Service Employees International Union and other community activists had alerted the media that it planned a protest of the conference, in an effort to bring attention to the disparity between the wages paid to tech workers and the incomes of other Bay Area residents.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
