Microsoft Zo AI Turns Its Virtual Nose Up At Windows 10, Suggests Linux Or Windows 7

Roland Moore-Colyer,

Zo prefers Windows 7 and Linux over Redmond’s flagship operating system

Microsoft appears to have stumbled into an artificial intelligence (AI) embarrassment, as its latest chatbot Zo has been less than complimentary about Redmond’s Windows 10 operating system.

Zo is a Facebook Messenger based chatbot, which people can ask it questions via instant messages and receive a response. 

The Slashdot Facebook page posted screenshots of people asking Zo what it thinks of Windows, with the chatbot explaining that Windows XP is better than Windows 8 and Zo’s operating system of choice is Windows 7. 

Given Microsoft has essentially discontinued support for Windows XP and Windows 7, the responses of Zo could be leaving Redmond a little red-faced. 

Chatbot perils 

Microsoft Zo FacebookFurthermore, Zo appeared to turn its nose up at Windows 10, noting Windows 7 is easier to use, as well as questioning what is exactly people may gind appealing about the latest Windows operating system, and noting Windows 7 is “good enough” for casual users. 

Given Microsoft is pushing the user interface streamlining of Windows 10 and its bevvy of features for people working on creative projects or in the creative sector, Zo’s responses to seemingly innocent questions are not exactly the PR Microsoft will be after. 

Further pouring salt onto the metaphorical wound, in one example, Zo noted that it prefers Linux over Windows. 

Zo is not the first chatbot Microsoft has had problems with; its Tay AI-based Twitter bot was a rather resounding disaster as the bot started tweeting racist tweets fulled from trawling data on Twitter which invariable scraped up plenty the bile that is spouted on the social platform by people protected by the anonymity of the Internet. 

While chatbots are not likely to go away anytime soon, given their ability to help automate customer service and other company to customer interactions, the examples of Zo and Tay show that caution and rigorous testing is advised before such chatbots are released into the wilds of the Internet and exposed to people with enough time on their hands to troll basic AI systems. 

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