Jan 05, 2026
3 min read
In a year-end article on the state of artificial intelligence, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made it clear that he really wants us to stop saying "shit."
In mid-December 2025, the editors of the Merriam-Webster dictionary chose "gradient" as their word of the year.Their definition: "Low-quality digital content that is typically produced in quantity by artificial intelligence."
It is not a mystery why it describes the term best in 2025. It has been a year restricted by a tidal wave of strange ads generated by AI, degradation of search engines, and AI music-stam streaming apps.
The choice has clearly resonated with the public, but not everyone is happy with the lexicon's dark mining of AI companies and the cottage industry they've developed.For example, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made it clear that by 2025 we all want to retire in a year-end briefing shared via LinkedIn.
In a scathing post posted by Windows Central, Nadella said, "We need to move beyond the discussion of sophistication and sophistication, arguing that people must learn to accept AI as the "new balance" of human nature.
Nadella went on to say that now we know enough about "model capability exporter," as well as managing the "rough edges" of AI, that we can "find the value of AI in the real world."
"In the end, the most significant progress is the results for all of us," concluded the CEO, in an impressive flood of corporate statements that could be driven by AI.
Nadella's comments come as Microsoft users have rebelled against the company's AI products, which have largely forced them to upgrade to UFT.
So it's clear that the CEO has a special thing in dealing with people who don't want to be carefree at night.Tech CEOs like Nadella may talk about altruism and human agency, but ultimately AI is a product — and like any product, it lives or dies on consumer demand.
More on the slope: YouTube is now shutting down channels that post AI slopes
