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Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2025 was "slop," the catch-all term for machine-generated crapola—or, as Merriam-Webster more prosaically (and politely) defines it, "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence." Hard to argue with the pick: As PC Gamer's Lincoln Carpenter said, it was "a year full of AI humiliation" that started with a stupid AI-generated Star Wars video and didn't stop until the calendar ran out.

But while "slop" is without doubt an appropriately defining word for 2025, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says it's time to stop talking about it, because we need to move on to bigger and more important things—like how they're going to make this obscenely expensive and resource-sucking mistake generator that nobody wants actually work.

The inherent assumption that AI collectively represents "cognitive amplifier tools" is immediately suspect: There's a reason we call AI output "slop," after all, and beyond it merely not being very good (and certainly not original or "creative" in any way), there's a growing body of research—including one paper co-authored by Microsoft—indicating that the rise of AI is actually making its users, well, dumber.

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"Computing throughout its history has been about empowering people and organizations to achieve more, and AI must follow the same path," he wrote. "If we do that, it can become one of the most profound waves of computing yet. This is what I hope we will collectively push for in ‘26 and beyond."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.