Why it matters: Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, who recently called for people to stop using the term "slop" to describe low-quality or inaccurate content generated by AI, seems to have forgotten his own plea. Speaking on stage in London as part of the company's AI Tour, Nadella admitted that "Nobody wants anything that is sloppy in terms of AI creation."
The CEO was speaking at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention centre about the wonders of AI. Much of his keynote speech revolved around Copilot, of course.
Hearing Nadella speak about AI's negatives, and especially his use of the term sloppy, is surprising given what he said in January.
In a personal essay on his site, SN Scratchpad, Nadella outlined his vision for 2026 and described what he calls the next phase of AI evolution.
"We need to get beyond the arguments of slop vs sophistication and develop a new equilibrium in terms of our 'theory of the mind' that accounts for humans being equipped with these new cognitive amplifier tools as we relate to each other," Nadella wrote. Ironically, most of the essay sounds like it was generated by an AI.
@willfrancis24 Meeting @microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the Microsoft AI Tour in London was a real privelege. I loved chatting about the future of AI and how it is changing work, public services and more. #ai #tech #technology #microsoft #satyanadella ♬ original sound - Will Francis - AI + Marketing
Nadella isn't alone in trying to push the narrative that AI really isn't as bad as people make out, despite the job losses, environmental damage, memory crisis, existential dangers, copyright theft, potential death of creativity, and the countless amount of slop that now fills the internet.
Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft's AI group, called public criticism of AI "mind-blowing" in November. Not long after, he warned that the technology could replace most white-collar jobs within the next 12 to 18 months, which makes his confusion about the criticism puzzling.
Unsurprisingly, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang is also upset that not everyone loves AI as much as he does. The CEO said the "doomer narrative" surrounding the technology is "not helpful to society." This is coming from the person whose company's total revenue for the year just hit a record $215.9 billion, almost entirely thanks to AI demand.
More recently, Peter Steinberger, creator of OpenClaw, a free AI agent that has been taking the internet by storm, complained of the derogatory connotations surrounding the term "vibe coding." He added that using AI coding tools is a skill comparable to learning to play the guitar.
Then there's Sam Altman, who bewilderingly compared AI energy use to the cost of "training" humans.
Nadella's admission that people don't want AI output that is "sloppy" is at least a mild retreat from his former view – or just a slip of the tongue. It's a shame AI generates so much of it.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says no one wants "sloppy" AI after urging critics to drop the term
