Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday unveiled a new type of PC that features synthetic intelligence tools built directly into Windows, the company’s world-leading operating system.
The tech giant estimates that more than 50 million “AI PCs” will be sold in the next 12 months, driven by demand for devices powered by ChatGPT-style technology.
“We are introducing a completely new class of Windows PCs designed to unleash the power” of on-device AI, Nadella said at a launch event in Redmond, Washington.
“We call this new category ‘Copilot Plus’…the fastest, most AI-ready Windows computer ever built,” he added.
Of all the tech giants, Microsoft has made the biggest push to bring the power of AI into its products, often leaving rival Google to play catch-up.
ChatGPT-style AI, called Copilot at Microsoft, is available across the company’s products, including Teams, Outlook, and the Windows operating system.
Microsoft even tried but failed to rejuvenate Bing, the underperforming online search engine, with the power of synthetic AI.
“These improvements provide the most compelling reason to upgrade your PC in a long time,” said Microsoft Vice President Yusuf Mehdi.
Microsoft says the Copilot Plus computer, equipped with a powerful AI-ready chip, is 58% faster than the MacBook Air M3.
Companies like Lenovo, Dell, Acer and HP said they will also release PCs running on Microsoft’s new Copilot Plus software.
Microsoft says the AI features will take place on the device, so you won’t have to wait for data to be sent to and from remote data centers or pay for a subscription.
AI services will include live translation, image generation, and the ability to interact with your computer through simple conversations and prompts instead of clicking files or drop-down menus.
Microsoft’s move into AI has been lauded by Wall Street and the company is now the world’s largest company by market capitalization, having dethroned Apple.
Microsoft is OpenAI’s main investor and has invested about $13 billion in cloud computing credits to meet ChatGPT maker’s huge computing needs.
In turn, Microsoft depends on OpenAI models such as GPT-4 for text or Dall-E for images to bring AI into its products.
Nadella’s announcement about AI comes on the heels of Google and ChatGPT maker Open AI’s announcement last week.
They introduced updates to their chatbots, with even more human-like interactions and new capabilities to understand their surroundings through video.
Google also announced it is adding AI answers to its world-leading search engine, despite concerns it could reduce advertising revenue or cause website traffic to decline. .
Analysts believe demand for AI products is helping boost the cloud computing businesses of Microsoft and Google, with customers willing to pay a premium to adopt ChatGPT-like capabilities.
In a note to clients, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said AI will add $25 billion to $30 billion to Microsoft’s revenue by 2025.
“Spending on AI is unprecedented in the tech world, and this is just the first phase of the ongoing AI Revolution,” said Ives.
Microsoft’s move to bring AI to PCs comes just before Apple’s event next month, which many expect to see ChatGPT capabilities feature in the new iPhones.
Media reports also suggest that Apple may announce a partnership between Apple and OpenAI.
Tech giants are racing to produce products despite concerns that AI poses a threat to society.
Authorities, including in the US, are looking to more closely monitor the development of AI and potentially set limits on its deployment.
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This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.
