In summary:
- PCWorld reports on a Chrome extension called “Microsoft to Microslop” that renames Microsoft references in browsers as a protest against the company’s aggressive AI integration.
- The extension reflects widespread user frustration with Microsoft’s Copilot AI, which faces extremely low adoption rates and growing privacy concerns among Windows users.
- Many users actively seek ways to remove AI features from Windows, highlighting significant backlash against Microsoft’s AI strategy despite CEO dismissals of complaints.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says we shouldn’t think of LLM output as “slop.” You know, AI-generated content, the thing that’s making the internet worse in every measurable way, and causing consumer electronics prices to skyrocket? So it would be a real shame if you installed an extension in your browser that changed “Microsoft” to “Microslop” all over the web.
Yes, installing “Microsoft to Microslop” would be a naughty and entirely cynical response. Especially if you, say, used Edge’s Chromium base to install it in Microsoft’s own default web browser, Edge. That would just be twisting the AI-generated knife, wouldn’t it?
“Screw you Satya Nadella. Learn about Barbara Streisand,” writes the developer on the Chrome Web Store, who freely admits they are “managing my levels of spite.” I can relate. They add that the extension only visually manipulates the page, so it won’t break links, or collect or store any user data.
Amazon/Microslop
If Nadella and/or Microsoft are feeling particularly touchy about being called sloppy or any derivative thereof, they have only themselves to blame. Nadella himself claimed that 30 percent of the software company’s code is now AI-generated. That’s amidst a massive user pushback, as the don’t-call-it-a-forced-migration from Windows 10 to 11 has angered both regular consumers and businesses, the constant insertion of Copilot “AI” into every part of Microsoft’s business causes headaches and privacy concerns, and software subscription prices rise as Microsoft tries to force people to buy Copilot services.
All the while…it seems that almost no one is actually using Copilot. Local “AI” applications using all the NPUs in new Windows laptops are still extremely limited, and Dell has figured out that even people who want to use “AI” will just open up a browser and go to ChatGPT.
So yeah, it’s understandable why people are calling the company Microslop after its CEO blared out a tone-deaf declaration. I first heard it on the CES show floor, while I was trying to find a single new product that didn’t have “AI” features jammed into it for no discernible reason. Windows Latest spotted the browser extension, but here’s a fun bonus: a guide that will remove all Copilot features from Windows itself, among others.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 15-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
