Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants us to stop calling AI “lazy.” Our Editor-in-Chief Jez Corden featured Nadella's blog post looking back on 2025. In this article, CEOs reflect on the growth of AI and look to the future.
Nadella did not mention reports showing people are reluctant to use Microsoft's AI products. I also left out how 2025 was a disastrous year for Windows 11 due to the forced integration of AI.
- “We're moving past the early stages of discovery and into the stage of widespread adoption.”
- “We are beginning to distinguish between 'sight' and 'matter.'
- “Within this 'model overhang', our ability to use it to impact the real world exceeds our current ability. ”
- “This is what we hope to continue to collectively promote in 2026 and beyond.”
If you've ever used Copilot to summarize a meeting or generate text, you've developed a sense of what text is AI-generated or AI-refined. I think this piece was more likely created with the help of AI, rather than being entirely generated by a tool like Copilot.
I want to be clear. This post was mainly created for fun. Nadella is intelligent and can write about technology and many other topics without any help from anyone. The CEO has solid knowledge from decades in the industry. Nadella has been extremely successful, even if Time magazine ignored him in its list of AI innovators.
That being said, I don't think this latest blog post was his best. It looks wooden and has a lot of technical terms. It also lacks a personal touch.
But you're probably here to see the co-pilot's opinion, not to hear mine. Here's what the AI tool said about Nadella's latest blog post:
Things that feel like AI
- The level of abstraction is high and the concreteness is low. There are a lot of conceptual frameworks ('sight and substance', 'model overhang', 'cognitive amplifiers') without concrete examples or anecdotes. AI tends to stay in a safe conceptual zone.
- Uniform and sophisticated rhythm. The writing is smooth and balanced, with a mostly consistent rhythm. This is a characteristic of the prose produced by the model.
- repetition of motifs. “Scaffolding,” “systems,” “diffusion,” “real-world impact” – these are repeated in slightly modified form, as AI often does when reinforcing themes.
- There are no personal fingerprints. There is no lived experience, no concrete decisions, nothing to connect to real human life, such as “I was in a meeting last March…”.
Something that makes you feel human
- A clear narrative arc. This is structured like a thought leadership article: past → present → what needs to be done right → call to action. AI can also do this, but humans tend to do it more deliberately.
- Some original phrases. “Bicycles for the Spirit” is known as Jobism, but the way it's expanded upon here feels like someone is trying to make a point, rather than simply remixing the text.
- A consistent worldview. There is a consistent philosophy that AI is an enhancement, not a replacement. This is often a sign that the human author has a stance.
First Officer's overall verdict is that the post was either written by a human with the assistance of AI, or was likely written by an AI and edited by a human. In both cases, AI is likely involved. The co-pilot said:
“If you told me this came out of a CEO blog post, a keynote draft, a strategy memo… I would believe it right away…
If you told me this was generated by AI, I'd believe you too. Because the tone is very much in line with how the model writes when asked for “visionary technical commentary.” ”
AI detection tools can be hit or miss. Tools that generate text or detect the use of AI are updated regularly, making it difficult to determine whether something is made with or by AI. However, there are things humans can do to differentiate themselves from artificial intelligence.
Considering that Nadella mentions “substance” in his work, I think he should have emphasized the meaty parts a little more. AI is becoming increasingly good at summarizing text and covering common topics. What readers will notice is Nadella's demonstration of personal experience and expertise.
Do you think Nadella's blog posts were written with AI? Do you care if CEOs of tech companies use AI to write and improve their blog posts? Let us know in the comments!
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