![\"Microsoft](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/microsoft-windows-11-ai-controlled.jpg\")
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\t\t\tIllustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins \/ Futurism. Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 10, all but forcing users to either upgrade or pay more money to keep getting essential security updates for the OS they already own. No matter that its replacement, Windows 11, can\u2019t be run on nearly half a billion machines, meaning it\u2019ll create mountains of e-waste<\/a> as those old, perfectly usable PCs get thrown out for new ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n If possible, things are getting even worse. This week, Microsoft is launching a suite of artificial intelligence features that basically turns existing Windows 11 systems into full-blown \u201cAI PCs\u201d which are controlled by Copilot<\/a>, the company\u2019s AI assistant. This isn\u2019t us being uncharitable: it\u2019s literally how a Microsoft exec is describing the update.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think we\u2019re on the cusp of the next evolution, where AI happens not just in that chatbot and gets naturally integrated into the hundreds of millions of experiences that people use every day,\u201d Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft, told The Verge in a briefing<\/a>. \u201cThe vision that we have is: let\u2019s rewrite the entire operating system around AI, and build essentially what becomes truly the AI PC.\u201d<\/p>\n If that sounds like a nightmare to you, then you\u2019ll realize that it\u2019s no coincidence that the AI updates are being rolled out when they are. Microsoft is making Windows 10 users walk the plank so they can fall into an inescapable pit of AI \u2014 where, once trapped, they\u2019re presumably supposed to give up and let the tech dominate their user experience.<\/p>\n The most obvious change is that Copilot will now be smack dab in the middle of the Windows taskbar<\/a>, which is arguably the most valuable piece of real estate on a user\u2019s screen. It\u2019s a design embodiment of how Microsoft wants to make AI central to the user experience.<\/p>\n This transformative shift hinges on users being willing to talk to their computer \u2014 as in, yes, actually uttering words out loud. The Copilot features will be activated by saying the phrase \u201cHey, Copilot!,\u201d acting as a sort of \u201cthird input mechanism to use with your PC,\u201d said Mehdi. (Historically, adding another input mechanism hasn\u2019t done wonders for the company<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The logic behind the voice controls sounds pretty questionable, but it\u2019s supposedly backed by data showing that users spend billions of minutes talking in Microsoft Team meetings, according to Mehdi \u2014 so they\u2019re already used to talking on the computer, right?<\/p>\n And with another feature, Copilot Vision, the AI will be able to see everything that happens on your screen so it can give context-based recommendations and tips. This is supposed to pair with Copilot Actions, which allow the AI assistant to perform tasks on your local machine, like editing folders or looking stuff up.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe PC should be able to act on your behalf,\u201d Mehdi said.<\/p>\n Needless to say, this requires ceding an alarming level of access to the AI \u2014 with your permission, of course. And evidence suggests this will be a hard sell. Microsoft\u2019s AI-powered\u00a0Recall feature, which constantly took screenshots of your desktop, received tons of backlash for its obvious security flaws, like recording your Social Security number<\/a>, and storing these recordings in a completely unencrypted folder<\/a>.<\/p>\n For now, the Copilot features will be technically opt-in, but it\u2019s more than possible that this will change in the future. Remember when Microsoft tried to force everyone to use its last stab at a virtual assistant, Cortana<\/a>, when Windows 10 came out? That also had voice controls and a host of privacy woes<\/a>. This time it\u2019ll be different, of course.<\/p>\n