A developer has posted a PowerShell script on GitHub to remove unpopular AI features from Windows 11. Users should proceed with caution, of course, but experts like Signal CEO Meredith Whittaker applaud the effort.
A developer has posted a PowerShell script on GitHub to remove unpopular AI features from Windows 11. Users should proceed with caution, of course, but experts like Signal CEO Meredith Whittaker applaud the effort.
The script is available on a GitHub account owned by a developer under the name "zoicware" and is called Remove Windows AI, Cybernews writes .
“The current build of Windows 11 version 25H2 and future iterations will include more and more AI features and components,” the project’s GitHub repository explains. “This script aims to remove ALL such features to improve user experience, privacy, and security.”
According to the description, the script disables registry keys, blocks reinstallation of AI packages, deactivates Copilot policies, removes AI Appx packages, files related to artificial intelligence, the highly controversial optional Recall feature, and much more.
In short, everything related to AI will be removed from Windows 11 if this particular script is used. Instead, users will be able to replace "modern AI-infected apps" with their classic versions.
However, there is a caveat: third-party antiviruses "will mistakenly identify the script as malicious." Therefore, users who are unsure about the security of the code are advised to test it on a virtual machine first.
Since Microsoft has angered many by putting all these artificial intelligence features in almost every product it offers, especially in the new Windows 11, such projects are attracting attention.
Signal CEO Meredith Whittaker calls these initiatives “collective defense tools” that help combat dangerous AI implementations on Windows, which she sees as the riskiest platform for deploying such technologies.
We love to see it! Community-created harm reduction infrastructure to contest the alarming integration of AI agents into the Windows operating system (which is currently the most reckless deployment environment) ♥️ github.com/zoicware/Rem…
— Meredith Whittaker ( @meredithmeredith.bsky.social ) January 12, 2026 at 8:48 PM
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“We see open-text databases accessible to malware; insecure data storage that ignores the principles of least privilege; screen recording features that we had to hastily defend against in the case of Recall; and the creation and accumulation of new invasive forensic and other personal data that puts us all at risk,” Whittaker said in December 2025.
But Microsoft will hope that such projects fail. The tech giant's CEO Satya Nadella seems to be a big believer in AI: he recently urged people to "leave the debate about AI junk in the past."
