Satya Nadella just earned nearly $80 million in compensation. He is Microsoft’s CEO, and he’s probably uttered the term “AI” more times than you’ve even thought about it. Given how prolific it’s become, that’s, uh, presumably saying quite a bit.
Generative AI is Microsoft’s big thing. It just is. And Nadella, who has made it a point to push the practice into his life on every conceivable level and some levels that barely fit the word, has a very special New Year’s message for us. Stop the slop.
I Respectfully Disagree
Kotaku wrote a scathing piece on Sadella’s statement. Technically, I saw the statement before I saw their article, but I’m linking you to it, anyway. Because it’s pretty good. And here’s the source, the CEO’s snscratchpad, which I am not going to claim is at least “AI-assisted” – I could get in trouble for that! – but it does seem distinctly possible!
This is the pertinent part, and there’s a bit to unpack:
“We need to get beyond the arguments of slop vs sophistication and develop a new equilibrium in terms of our ‘theory of the mind’ that accounts for humans being equipped with these new cognitive amplifier tools as we relate to each other. This is the product design question we need to debate and answer.”
Who talks like this? Well, incredibly rich people, apparently. Who am I, a lowly writer whose career is at risk, to criticize? Not to bury the lede: “slop vs sophistication.” There’s slop, you see, but then there’s sophistication. And, really, there’s no slop at all. And we should stop saying it altogether. We should never say “AI slop.” Especially now, since generative AI is no longer slop. It is, in fact, sophisticated. And we can’t just make up a new term, like “sophisticated AI slop,” because that would still look bad and make Microsoft and other bullish entities fight a slightly more difficult battle in its bid to win hearts and minds.
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The dark side of the force.
Where, per se, will Satella and his cross-corporate peers be taking our hearts and minds? To a “new equilibrium.” Our “theory of the mind” just got a fresh system update, fam, through which we are “being equipped with these new cognitive amplifier tools.” Have you checked out your cognitive amplifier tool yet? Listen, it’s going to help us “relate to each other,” so I hope you do so soon. I’d also appreciate it if you pour money into the process, because this is a “product design question” that needs to be dealt with in short order.
If there’s a silver lining in all of this, Satella at least pays lip service to the myriad challenges facing the environment. AI, in case you’ve not heard, is only – er – amplifying those challenges. Energy consumption up the wazoo. And yet:
“For AI to have societal permission it must have real world eval impact. The choices we make about where we apply our scarce energy, compute, and talent resources will matter. This is the socio-technical issue we need to build consensus around.”
It’s couched in a need for “societal permission,” which, um… thanks, I guess…? And I’m pretty sure I’ve generally read the term “socio-technical” in dystopian science fiction novels, but whatever, we can give it a pass. The CEO name-dropped “scarce energy” and “talent resources,” so let’s all take solace in the fact that, as of January 2026, that is still a thing that he feels the need to toss in.
I’ll catch you later. I don’t talk to non-cognitives anymore. Or something.
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It’s part of a generally nuanced interview discussion, though I certainly agree with Ms. White on the dangers.
