Summary
Microsoft pushes Windows to be an agentic, AI-first OS despite broad user backlash.
Developers fear Windows will prioritize AI integrations over dev-friendly control and privacy.
Microsoft claims it listens, but commitment to agentic Windows suggests AI bets will win out.
Microsoft recently stated that it wants to make Windows an agentic OS. If you’re unsure as to what that means, “agentic” is what tech people call an AI system that can do stuff on its own without much input from the user. Some browsers are becoming agentic, although not everyone will recommend you use them. In terms of Windows, Microsoft wants to make its OS agentic by “connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere.”
The problem is, nobody liked the announcement. People expressed their disinterest with Microsoft converting Windows into an AI-first platform, which caused the President of Windows to make a statement on the matter. Unfortunately, the statement seems to be “we heard you, but we’re doing this for your own sake,” which definitely doesn’t sit well with many people.
Microsoft claims that it “cares deeply about developers” as it introduces an agentic operating system
Over on X, Pavan Davuluri, the President of Windows, made a post replying to the people who have felt dissatisfied with Windows’ proposed direction. Pavan replied to a post from Gergely Orosz, writer for The Pragmatic Engineer, where they stated that they “Can’t see any reason for [software] engineers to choose Windows with this weird direction they are doubling down on” and finished up by saying “Mac or Linux it is for devs.”
As such, Pavan’s reply takes a more dev-oriented focus as they try to stymie the flames:
Pavan claims that “When we meet as a team, we discuss these paint [sic] points and others in detail, because we want developers to choose Windows,” rounding off their statement by saying “We know words aren’t enough, it’s on us to continue improving and shipping.”
As you might imagine, Pavan’s post didn’t garner many positive replies:
It’s easy to see why. From what we know about the inner workings of Microsoft, the company has fully embraced the AI wave, believing it to be the future. As such, as much as Pavan can take to the stage and claim that Microsoft will listen to user feedback and use it to improve Windows, it’s still going to truck ahead with turning the OS into an agentic system. It has poured far too much money and made way too many bets on AI for it to back down now.
As a result, Microsoft is taking this strange stance where it’s saying “Windows is becoming an agentic OS, but we really care about our developers, but it will become an agentic OS.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Microsoft can appease both sides at the same time forever, and I have a nasty suspicion I know which one it’ll sacrifice when it comes down to it.