Old habits die hard: Microsoft tries to limit our options, this time with AI Microsoft’s approach to integrating AI into its products has sparked significant controversy, with critics accusing the company of prioritizing its business interests over user autonomy. The latest controversy centers on Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant, which has been pushed onto users through aggressive design choices. Over the past year, Copilot was automatically installed on Windows devices running Microsoft 365 desktop apps without user consent. This practice extended to physical hardware, as a new keyboard key was added to laptops to launch Copilot by default, with no straightforward way to remap it. By default, Copilot was also pinned to the taskbar on Windows 11 PCs, and Microsoft even planned to embed it into core system features like the Windows notification center, the Settings app, and File Explorer. These actions have drawn widespread backlash from users who feel their choices are being overridden. Microsoft’s tactics are not new. Independent research commissioned by Mozilla has documented a pattern of deceptive design practices by the company, including complex processes for changing default browsers and UI elements that subtly steer users back to Microsoft Edge. Since Mozilla published this research, Microsoft has continued to escalate its use of such tactics. For example, the Windows Search bar, embedded in the taskbar on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, is hardcoded to open Microsoft Edge regardless of the user’s default browser. Similarly, Windows lacks a true device migration system, unlike platforms such as Android, iOS, or macOS, where apps, settings, and data are seamlessly transferred to new devices. Instead, defaults are reset to Microsoft’s own products.#microsoft #windows #copilot #mozilla #firefox
