The Thought Process May Be a Problem: Microsoft and Copilot Fees
February 4, 2025
Yep, a dinobaby wrote this blog post. Replace me with a subscription service or a contract worker from Fiverr. See if I care.
Here’s a connection to consider. On one hand, we have the remarkable attack surface of Microsoft software. Think SolarWinds. Think note from the US government to fix security. Think about the flood of bug fixes to make Microsoft software secure. Think about the happy bad actors gleefully taking advantage of what is the equivalent of a piece of chocolate cake left on a picnic table in Iowa in July.
Now think about the marketing blast that kicked off the “smart software” revolution. Google flashed its weird yellow and red warning lights. Sam AI-Man began thinking in terms of trillions of dollars. Venture firms wrote checks like it was 1999 again. Even grade school students are using smart software to learn about George Washington crossing the Delaware.
And where are we? ZDNet published an interesting article which may have the immediate effect of getting some Microsoft negative vibes. But to ZDNet’s credit the write up “The Microsoft 365 Copilot Launch Was a Total Disaster.” I want to share some comments from the write up before I return to the broader notion that the “thought process” is THE Microsoft problem.
I noted this passage:
Shortly after the New Year, someone in Redmond pushed a button that raised the price of its popular (84 million paid subscribers worldwide!) Microsoft 365 product. You know, the one that used to be called Microsoft Office? Yeah, well, now the app is called Microsoft 365 Copilot, and you’re going to be paying at least 30% more for that subscription starting with your next bill.
How about this statement:
No one wants to pay for AI
Some people do, but these individuals do not seem to be the majority of computing device users. Furthermore there are some brave souls suggesting that today’s approach to AI is not improving as the costs of delivering AI continue to rise. Remember those Sam AI-Man trillions?
Microsoft is not too good with numbers either. The article walks through the pricing and cancellation functions. Here’s the key statement after explaining the failure to get the information consistent across the Microsoft empire:
It could be worse, I suppose. Just ask the French and Spanish subscribers who got a similar pop-up message telling them their price had gone from €10 a month to €13,000. (Those pesky decimals.)
Yep, details. Let’s go back to the attack surface idea. Microsoft’s corporate thought process creates problems. I think the security and Copilot examples make clear that something is amiss at Microsoft. The engineering of software and the details of that engineering are not a priority.
That is the problem. And, to me, it sure seems as though Microsoft’s worse characteristics are becoming the dominant features of the company. Furthermore, I believe that the organization cannot remediate itself. That is very concerning. Not only have users lost control, but the firm is unconsciously creating a greater set of problems for many people and organizations.
Not good. In fact, really bad.
Stephen E Arnold, February 4, 2025
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