- CEO of AI Mustafa Suleyman wrote on X following a recent backlash against AI
- Exec said there are “so many cynics” out there who think AI is “underwhelming”
- He added that “the fact that people aren’t impressed that we can have a fluent conversation with a super smart AI … is overwhelming to me”
Microsoft has come under fire for its doubling down on AI after recent revelations about where Windows 11 is headed, and the answer is to fight fire with fire, at least for the company’s AI chief executive.
Windows Central flagged Mustafa Suleyman taking to X and stating that he is not impressed by the AI haters.
Regarding recent negative feedback on the planned AI advancements for Windows 11, including AI agents in the operating system, Suleyman complained: “Gee, there are so many cynics! It cracks me up when I hear people call AI underwhelming. I grew up playing Snake on a Nokia phone! The fact that people are unimpressed that we can have a super smart AI conversation that can create a super smart AI conversation. Me.”
And okay, I understand that feeling in some ways. Yes, the evolution of AI or Large Language Model (LLMs) since ChatGPT burst onto the scene has been something to behold. It’s undeniable that the speed of development with AI on the desktop and phones has been staggering, and some pretty incredible things are happening.
Even regular people of the very non-tech variety, or certainly my friends and family, quickly catch on that ChatGPT (or Gemini, or Copilot, and so on) can be a far more powerful tool than Google to answer questions and meet their needs. (Though Google has AI injected into its search results at the top now, of course, just for that reason). Or indeed to look up a rather spectacular picture from the ground up that Suleyman touches.
It’s all good things though. You can just talk about the positive sunny things and not the billowing darkness of clouds that consists of all the worries and doubts about AI. And so on into the storm…
Analysis: Microsoft needs to build trust and confidence
There is, of course, general fear of artificial intelligence – that we will move fast and destroy things, as the oft-cited concern goes. And that we are not doing enough to ensure safety and road protection, while at the same time we are too focused on pushing forward with what AI can do. (And when I say ‘we’, I really mean those of us making tons of money from AI, related applications, and related hardware, of course).
Those kinds of broader concerns apply to AI in Windows 11, of course, but there are more specific barbs aimed at Microsoft’s fresh push to get more AI into its desktop operating system.
I’ve talked a lot about this lately, so I won’t go over it in full again, but suffice it to say that this is mainly about Microsoft’s focus on AI being “unimpressive” (harsher words have been used) in terms of pushing new features into Windows 11 when there’s a part about the operating system that still leaves a lot to be desired.
For example, missing basic functionality (moving the taskbar away from the bottom of the screen) and the all-too-regular drop-feed of bugs and weird issues with Windows 11.
As I and many others have said, how can we trust Microsoft to get AI right – and get agents to perform perhaps complex tasks while maintaining our privacy and security – when even basic elements of the Windows 11 interface go wrong on a regular basis (slow search, File Explorer, weird right-click menus, and so on).
That’s what’s “underwhelming” about Microsoft’s software development and QA processes, which will also apply to these AI agents with their tendrils extending beyond Windows 11 and your files (where of course you’ve given the agent permission to access it – I’ll make this very clear, but the AI still has access to some content).
What is also a big problem is that the demos of Copilot, especially the latest marketing efforts, have been underwhelming. The practical use of AI doesn’t match the theory, as we saw in a recent clip of Copilot trying to help a user change the text size in Windows 11, where it stumbles over a number of points and gets a few things straight wrong. It’s baffling how Microsoft’s marketing department let this clip go live, frankly, and tellingly, the video has now been taken down.
While those working on artificial intelligence in Windows 11 may understandably be frustrated by the negative reaction out there, they need to take this criticism on board and not lash out like this – which, to be fair, another Microsoft executive has done.
Given the misfire demos and the general underwhelming nature of Copilot so far in Windows 11 – where much of the early AI capabilities are focused on primarily creative applications that aren’t everyone’s bag by any means – is it any wonder that many people aren’t that enthusiastic? Or that some are downright hostile when they’re fed up with bugs, bits of Windows 11 that go wrong in really weird ways, and the incessant promotion of Microsoft’s other services in the operating system? Or when they think of the Recall debacle – don’t forget that gem of woeful under-thinking and poor planning of an AI feature that is deeply privacy sensitive.
For some people, all of this has created a backdrop of distrust as to whether Microsoft can get AI right, and that the ‘snake’ of these agents could somehow escape the confines of its security container due to an exploit and end up emptying all their files.
The best computers for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
