AIInsight

Microsoft Paint is the poster child of a time forgotten. It’s been a standard app on Microsoft PCs for even longer than you think—38 years, to be precise. That’s right—you could access Paint before accessing the internet. It’s that kind of old.

Now, after trying to kill the historic app in 2017, Microsoft has decided to adopt a new strategy. According to Windows Central, the tech giant is considering incorporating AI capabilities into Paint. Why? Who knows? The article reveals that the update would work similarly to the current Bing AI Image Generator.

What could an AI update to MS Paint possibly entail? Perhaps it would allow users to generate AI images to which they could add hastily drawn scribbles. Drawing mustaches on celebrity faces would provide some amusement, even if just for a second, I suppose.

The main question this new information raises is—why? Why update something that’s already perfect as it is? Okay, hear me out.

Yes, MS Paint is old. It’s outdated. But isn’t that the point? Paint is about doodles and childish fun—not generative fill features, photorealistic imagery, and professional artistry. It’s a relic of a simpler time. Shouldn’t it just stay that way?

Perhaps I’m hopelessly clinging to memories of childhood afternoons spent scribbling on my mother’s home computer here. But I stand proudly on my clumsily scribbled, pixelated pedestal when I say: Please, just leave Paint alone.