Satya Nadella publicly torches a VP's plan to make Microsoft's AI agent deliberately addictive

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has sharply criticized an internal memo proposing to make users "addicted" to the company's new AI agent Scout. That's "absolutely not a goal," Nadella wrote to about 50 top engineers, according to The Information. AI should empower people and create real value.

Not sure what this document is or who is writing and leaking this nonsense! They may want to go work elsewhere.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft

The memo came from Corporate Vice President Omar Shahine and laid out a three-phase plan from addictive app to agentic platform, as 404 Media first reported. Scout is built on the open-source software OpenClaw and was unveiled at Microsoft's Build conference.

Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw told The Information that Scout should help people get tasks done more effectively and ultimately lead to less screen time. Users should have choice and control over how they interact with the agent. Nadella's rebuke comes as social media platforms face growing criticism for using addictive design patterns to squeeze more usage time out of people.