this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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109
Microsoft Wants to 'Make People Addicted' to its New AI Assistant, Internal Documents Reveal (www.404media.co)
submitted 3 days ago by HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org to c/programming@programming.dev
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

In case you hit some technical obstacle, here is an archived version:

https://web.archive.org/web/20260602195828/https://www.404media.co/microsoft-wants-to-make-people-addicted-to-scout-its-new-ai-assistant-internal-documents-reveal/

Key citation (emphasis mine):

Overview and Plan with Project Lobster,” seen by 404 Media has a subheading called “ClawPilot Overall Plan,” which notes “three phases” to its launch plan. The first phase is “Make people addicted.”

“Continue shipping the standalone ClawPilot experience. Pilot the UX, grow the user base, and build the skill and tool ecosystem that makes people depend on it daily. This is already happening organically,” the document says. Omar Shahine, the Microsoft executive leading the project, adds that in its pilot with Microsoft employees, they have seen “Daily Usage with High Retention and intensity of usage (chats, queries, workflows, skills).” The additional phases of the plan involve connecting ClawPilot to other AI tools and eventually adding new features.

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[–] Dumhuvud@programming.dev 41 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

"Make people addicted."

Just in case anyone was ever doubting the fact that the people behind these GenAI products are complete and utter fucking scum.

[–] cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 45 points 3 days ago

Capitalism has cooked these people's brains. There is nothing of value left inside them.

[–] RamenJunkie@midwest.social 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

AI Companies: "We want to get people addicted."

Also AI Companies: "Do not ever discuss anything even remotely pornographic."

I am confused as to their goal here.

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 days ago

get the money while there's a christofascist government in charge

[–] 87Six@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago

What they say is never what they intend. Y'all still listening and actually believing the words that are exiting their mouth holes?

[–] renegadespork@lemmy.jelliefrontier.net 21 points 3 days ago

“Acquire -> Extract” has been the Silicon Valley playbook for decades, now. The enshittification process is just more blatant and accelerated with AI.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago

We put drug peddlers in prison for trying to addict people. The fact that they are not joking is proof of their malice. That is classic criminal behavior.

[–] GiorgioPerlasca@lemmy.ml 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Instagram and TikTok already made hundreds of thousands of users addicted, also causing suicides.

The mechanism behind addiction in LLMs, Instagram and TikTok is similar to the one of slot machines: variable rewards, rapid feedback loops, and the exploitation of deep-seated pattern-seeking tendencies.

[–] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'd love to learn more about that.

These companies basically have found backdoors into our brain.

[–] GiorgioPerlasca@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The best book about it is the one by Karen Hao: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_AI

A free book about why social media is addicting is The Social Media Hijacking by James Meridian: https://e-librairie.leclerc/product/9798231036318_9798231036318_10020/the-social-media-hijacking

[–] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 2 points 2 days ago

Many thanks!

[–] MrRandom@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

no guardrails AI image genration could get me hooked....

[–] towerful@programming.dev 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Sure, or make a good product?
That's what other companies do. They make a good product, and people then depend on it.
The shitty VC companies then enshitify.
The actual "we believe in our product" companies continue making a good product.

[–] talkingpumpkin@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

To me it looks like "we believe in our product" companies are an endangered species