Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot, which sparked controversy in the Windows 11 operating system, is now bringing the issue to televisions. An update to LG televisions’ webOS operating system automatically installed the Microsoft Copilot application, which users cannot uninstall.
Copilot will become mandatory
While users can ignore this application, the inevitable trend of AI becoming more integrated into everyday products is now even becoming true for televisions. It’s currently unclear exactly what the Copilot AI application does on a television.
This move by Microsoft is thought to aim for a larger share of the AI application market and to become the leading platform for AI queries. Since LG’s webOS is a Linux-based operating system, this could also indicate that Microsoft is preparing Copilot for a wider rollout targeting Linux users; Linux currently holds a 3% market share among personal computers.
Other television operating systems are also at the “risk” of acquiring this particular Microsoft Copilot application, which may be unwelcome, especially for users who don’t want their televisions to perform any AI operations.
In addition to these developments, Reddit users have drawn attention to a setting called “Live Plus” found on LG televisions. When this setting is enabled, the television can recognize the content displayed on the screen and use this viewing information to provide personalized recommendations and advertisements.
While LG describes this feature as an “enhanced viewing experience,” this setting can be turned off from the menu; the relevant menu path is usually Settings > All Settings > General > Additional Settings, but the exact wording may vary from model to model.
