Microsoft spent years integrating its AI Copilot into Windows, Office, and other consumer products without the option to opt out. However, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella did not address those frustrations in a year-end post. Instead, Nadella closed out the year with a blog post shared to LinkedIn titled “Looking Ahead to 2026,” focused fully on the alleged importance of AI for the future of technology. His post, however, had the inverse effect, causing folks on social media to create a new phrase in response: Microslop.
Nadella argued the debate should move past “slop”
In the post, Nadella framed 2026 as another decisive year for artificial intelligence. He wrote, “We have moved past the initial phase of discovery and are entering a phase of widespread diffusion.” Then, he claimed the industry could now separate “spectacle” from “substance.”
However, the line that drew the most attention came later. Nadella wrote that Microsoft needed “to get beyond the arguments of slop vs sophistication and develop a new equilibrium in terms of our ‘theory of the mind.’” Because of that phrasing, many readers read it as a rejection of the popular insult “AI slop.”
Nadella expanded on the idea by describing AI as “scaffolding for human potential vs a substitute.” He also said teams must “evolve from models to systems when it comes to deploying AI for real world impact.” Still, critics argued that the language felt detached from the daily user experience.
He ended by calling AI adoption “a messy process of discovery.”
“Computing throughout its history has been about empowering people and organizations to achieve more, and AI must follow the same path. If we do that, it can become one of the most profound waves of computing yet,” Nadella wrote.
“Microslop” memes and reactions spread after the post
Because Nadella pushed back on “slop,” the internet responded with the new nickname for anything AI, now dubbed Microslop.
On X, @MrEwanMorrison wrote, “A great example of the ‘Streisand Effect’ – in which telling people not to call AI ‘slop’ is already backfiring and resulting in millions of people hearing the word for the first time and spreading it virally. A huge own goal from Microslop.”
Others reacted more bluntly. @ww2ezcompany tweeted, “Sarah Connor was right, F*ck AI.”
Meanwhile, @messeduppcs shared a graphic showing the Windows trash icon’s evolution from 1995 to 2025 into the Copilot logo.
Reddit followed soon after. A r/MircoSlop subreddit appeared within days, filled with jokes and criticism. User u/drakmordis wrote, “He could pay me to stop calling his company’s output and outlook ‘slop’ but he won’t.”
Meanwhile, u/Peter_Singers_Pond joked, “Hold on lemme jump on my favorite ai slop maker to ai-Slopify some slop.” Others mocked Microsoft’s persistence. “Heard you wanted some AI slop so we put some AI Slop on yo AI Slop so you can AI Slop while you AI Slop,” u/NeckRoFeltYa wrote.
Some comments focused on trust. u/deprevino argued users never wanted AI “shoved in their face repeatedly.” Therefore, Nadella’s request rang hollow to them. “What sort of relationship are we supposed to have with this executive where we would then care about what he ‘wants’? Even if you haven’t been fired or dragged under by AI, all I can read from guys like Satya is ignorance at best and hostility/contempt at worst. You have to operate in good faith before you can make requests like this.”
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
