I don't need AI in Windows. I need an operating system that works

Windows 2030 sounds like Windows 8 all over again—misguided and destined to be a flop.

- CHRIS HOFFMAN

Microsoft's vision for Windows in 2030 includes a “voice-first” interaction mode (fave.co/3VbZUHD) that shifts away from the traditional keyboard and mouse, making them feel “alien.” Under the hood, that means handing over control to “Al agents” who perform and handle tasks on our behalf.

Hey, Microsoft...can you please stop? I don't need an agentic Al operating system. Instead of working toward a future no one wants, how about you start delivering the operating system we do want?

Here's the thing. Even Al-loving power users don't need Windows reimagined as an Al canvas, and they definitely don't need a low-quality local image generator built into the Photos app (fave.co/4f3NQkw). They’re accessing cloud-based Al tools or installing heavy local Al models (fave.co/3lkH5z7) and running them on high-end GPUs. Here's what Al enthusiasts need from Windows: an OS that works—yes, with a keyboard and mouse.

"VOICE FIRST" IS THE NEW "TOUCH FIRST"

With Windows 8, Microsoft aimed to make Windows a “touch-first” operating system, chasing the success of Apple's iPad. It didn’t work, though, and it only served to alienate users and cause massive problems.

It feels like Microsoft is repeating that same mistake again, except this time it's chasing the Al dragon. Maybe this time it'll work better than the company’s past efforts to compete in smartphones, tablets, and VR/XR headsets. Or maybe it'll just wreck Windows again.

OpenAl employs Jony Ive (fave.co/4gs77xa), creator of the iPhone, and it’s working on some new category-defining Al-first device. Meanwhile, Microsoft is panicking and insisting that Gen Z will find the mouse and keyboard “alien” in a few years (fave.co/41QFVSG). (That seems unlikely considering that Gen Z is currently between the ages of 13 and 28.) It feels reactionary, not visionary.