The tech industry is pushing to incorporate AI into nearly every aspect of its consumer-facing offerings AI apps you can’t uninstall To have hallucinations that no one asked for is nothing short of unbearable.
Tech enthusiasts and average consumers alike are helplessly watching as the software and hardware on which they research, work, game, and stay in touch have been turned into a testing ground for unproven AI technology – often without their consent.
Tech giant Microsoft has been at the center of this resulting blowout, bearing the full brunt of the anger of many people fed up with AI being forced down their throats. Its Windows 11 operating system has been flooded with annoying AI features after the company doubled down on what it called “AI PCs” last year, disappointing countless users, and most recently calling it “microslop.”
Thankfully, sellers are finally starting to pay attention. As pcgamer reportsWindows PC maker Dell admitted at this year’s CES that things have really gotten out of hand.
Their executives are ready to say the quiet thing out loud – that no one is trying to buy an “AI PC.”
“One thing you’ll notice is that the message we gave about our products was not AI-first,” Dell product chief Kevin Terwilliger said during a pre-CES briefing. “So, a bit of a change from a year ago where we were all about AI PCs.”
“We’re very focused on delivering the AI capabilities of a device – in fact everything we’re announcing has a (neural processing unit) in it – but what we’ve learned over the course of this year, especially from a consumer perspective, is they’re not making purchases based on AI,” he admitted. “In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome.”
This is a remarkable change, indicating a promising sea change in the perspective of technology manufacturers. After years of companies promising us that we need a little more AI in life, this is a refreshing new perspective.
But whether the company that develops the operating system for Dell’s PCs will agree with this assessment that consumers have had enough remains to be seen.
one in year end post On LinkedIn, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took umbrage at the word “slope” and argued that “we need to go beyond the argument of slope versus sophistication.”
Nadella expressed dismay that the company’s tripling down of AI “will continue to be a messy process of discovery, as all technology and product development always is.”
Indeed, tech companies like Microsoft and Dell still have a lot to prove until they can realize their lofty promises about what AI can do.
For now, several new AI features be furiously idleWhich makes us wonder if all the risk and disappointment will be worth it in the end.
However, the fact is that Dell is worried that its AI-first approach could hinder it from reaching new customers and making new sales.
Beyond Terwilliger’s eureka moment, Dell also acknowledged at CES To kill Its much-loved series of XPS laptops was a mistake, it’s officially being revived for 2026 – and the decision was made based on it Excited feedback This move has received a boost, it was probably the right move.
Now, if only there wasn’t all the hype around AI Huge rise in prices of PC components,
More on Microsoft and AI: “Microslop”: Infuriating video shows how Microsoft is ruining Windows with AI
