Microsoft is trying to forget ‘Microslop’ now rather than censor the word, but I think it’s a term that will hang around the company’s neck for the rest of time.
- Microsoft had blocked posts that used the term ‘Microslop’ on its Copilot Discord channel
- This was a “temporary anti-spam measure”, apparently
- The policy no longer exists, but if Microsoft believes the word will disappear, it seems highly unlikely.
Microsoft is apparently letting the ‘Microslop’ issue slide and is no longer monitoring its Discord channel to block the term.
You may remember that earlier this year, the Microslop nickname emerged after a comment from Microsoft’s CEO, related to ‘AI slop’, and the company cracked down on the word by blocking posts that used it on the Copilot Discord channel.
Windows Latest noted that this is no longer the case and the term is now used openly in the general chat channel. Searching for ‘Microslop’ produces more than 200 results in posts dating back weeks.
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In short, Microsoft has tempered its moderation, come to its senses, and realized that cracking down and censoring in this way will only inflame anti-AI passions, if it does anything.
I should make it clear that Microsoft has never said anything official on this matter, in terms of admitting any ban in the first place, much less lifting it. However, Windows Latest reports that it heard from Microsoft at the time and was told that the filtering was a “temporary anti-spam measure” rather than a permanent policy. It appears that this is indeed the case.
Analysis: Streisand effect
The author of the Windows Latest article further notes that they have noticed that on the Reddit, X and Windows forums, there are fewer mentions of the term Microslop these days. It happens “much less frequently,” we are told.
I’m not so sure about that. I still see Microslop mentioned with some regularity, although I recognize that the term’s popularity has waned. This is a subjective matter, of course, and may reflect that I visit more negative posts about Windows 11 than the Windows Latest writer in recent months, who’s to say?
The writer acknowledges that the “criticisms are still there” in terms of ‘AI deterioration’ in Windows 11, but that they have subsided since Microsoft began fixing the operating system and made some measures to minimize the presence of AI in certain areas.
I think what Microsoft has done so far is more to not mention or actively push AI, rather than removing it from Windows 11, although it is true that some work has been done on the latter front. However, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t mean much.
There has been a change in attitude, yes, but that was absolutely necessary considering that the entire ‘Windows 11 fix campaign’ was embarked on after Microsoft was criticized for focusing on adding AI tweaks to the system instead of fixing the fundamentals with the operating system.
I still see a lot of praise about ‘Microslop’, especially when a Windows 11 bug comes up. Commenters are quick to attack Microsoft and throw out “this is what you get when AI codes” criticism, and the term Microslop inevitably gets thrown into these types of threads. (Microsoft has admitted that it uses AI for coding heavily, and Windows 11 users won’t let the company forget it in a hurry.)
Personally, I don’t think the term Microslop is going anywhere, and in all likelihood it will be hanging around Microsoft’s neck for the rest of the company’s existence. While it is obviously a positive step that any “temporary” censorship has been rescinded, it is already a little late. Any attempt to reduce negative talk about AI was always only going to highlight even more grievances, cause more bad feelings, and even more harmful talk.
As one Redditor said: “How many times do companies need to learn about the Streisand effect?”
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