Smarter PCs with AI brains to be developed

Microsoft, the developer of the world’s No.1 operating system, Windows, will announce its vision for artificial intelligence (AI) PCs on Tuesday (local time). Since the company is a dominant player in the Generative AI market as a major investor in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, the announcement is garnering attention in the tech industry. With Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, HP, Lenovo, and Apple jumping into the AI PC market, the industry predicts that the AI PC will be the savior of the PC market experiencing slow demand recovery.

CNBC reported on Sunday (local time) that Microsoft will unveil its vision for AI PCs at its Build developer conference, which will be held from Tuesday through Thursday. According to CNBC, the tech giant will announce how AI will be utilized in Windows and what more can be done with AI PCs.

Last year, Microsoft launched Copilot, an AI model based on OpenAI’s model. In March this year, the company launched a PC and laptop with a keyboard that has a button for Copilot as its basic setting. The tech industry is expecting a more evolved technological strategy to be announced. “This year will be the first year when AI becomes an essential feature for all PCs,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in January this year, forewarning heavy competition in the AI PC market.

AI PCs refer to those specialized for AI-related work, such as computation and machine learning. Recently launched AI PCs focus on the on-device function, which enables the use of AI without an Internet connection, reducing issues with data transfer or private information leakage. A market research firm, Canalys, predicted that about 48 million AI PCs will be marketed this year and that AI PCs will account for approximately 70 percent of all PCs in the market by 2028. AI PCs have now become undeniable in the mainstream.

Some point out the limitations that there aren’t many AI features or applications that can be run on AI PCs, arguing that more reasons should be created for users to choose AI PCs. “When smartphones first came out, there weren’t a lot of apps. However, with the increased availability of various apps, smartphones became mainstream. More apps and services should be developed to draw users to AI PCs,” said an industry source. “Consumers will choose attractive products regarding price, design, and graphic performance.”


변종국 기자 bjk@donga.com