TL;DR
Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman questioned why people call AI “underwhelming” after Windows boss Pavan Davuluri’s “agentic OS” tweet triggered backlash. Critics cited reliability, performance, and ease-of-use concerns, with one programmer stating users “don’t care about any of this shit”. Davuluri later dropped AI mentions, emphasising commitment to improving Windows experience. The exchange highlights disconnect between corporate AI enthusiasm and user priorities.
Corporate Vision Meets User Scepticism
Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft’s AI group, expressed frustration at AI criticism following negative reaction to the company’s Windows evolution announcement. “Jeez there so many cynics! It cracks me up when I hear people call AI underwhelming,” he tweeted, contrasting current AI capabilities with growing up playing Snake on Nokia phones.
Last week, Windows boss Pavan Davuluri tweeted that “Windows is evolving into an agentic OS, connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere.” Rather than generating interest, the announcement triggered harsh feedback. “Stop this non-sense. No one wants this,” wrote one programmer. “You live in a Twitter bubble where AI will create tons of wealth and you will perish unless you adopt it now. But your users are not in this bubble.”
Response and Reality Check
After disabling public replies to his original tweet, Davuluri acknowledged criticism: “I’ve read through the comments and see focus on things like reliability, performance, ease of use and more.” His follow-up dropped AI mentions entirely, instead emphasising Microsoft’s commitment to improving Windows experience and addressing pain points.
Suleyman’s defence has received its own backlash, with critics noting generative AI faces significant problems including hallucinating incorrect information, sparking copyright infringement legal battles, and potentially displacing human workers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed Suleyman’s perspective, though Musk leads xAI, competing against both OpenAI and Microsoft.
Looking Forward
The exchange reveals fundamental tension between corporate AI strategy and user priorities. Microsoft has made AI central to its software approach, with Suleyman claiming AI is “the smartest, most capable technology ever invented” that “keeps improving even faster than we thought possible”. However, user feedback suggests concerns about reliability, practical utility, and implementation quality outweigh enthusiasm for technological capabilities—highlighting the challenge of translating impressive AI demonstrations into solutions addressing actual user needs rather than perceived strategic imperatives.
Source: PCMag