REDMOND, United States: Microsoft on Monday unveiled a new category of PCs that includes generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools built right into Windows, with more than 50 million “AI PCs” estimated to be sold over the next 12 months.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled the new PC with AI tools built right 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, given the interest in devices powered by ChatGPT-style technology.
“We’re introducing a whole new class of Windows PCs designed to unleash the power” of artificial intelligence on devices, Nadella said at the launch event in Redmond, Washington.
“We call this new category ‘Copilot Plus’…the fastest, most AI-enabled Windows computers,” he added.
Of all the tech giants, Microsoft has pushed the most aggressively to put generative artificial intelligence capabilities into its products, often leaving rival Google scrambling to catch up.
Called Copilot by Microsoft, the ChatGPT-style AI is available across the company’s products, including Teams, Outlook and the Windows operating system.
Microsoft has even tried, so far unsuccessfully, to rejuvenate Bing, its underperforming online search engine, with the generative capabilities of artificial intelligence.
“These improvements are the most compelling reason to upgrade your PC in a long time,” said Microsoft vice president Yusuf Mehdi.
Built with powerful AI-ready chips, Microsoft said Copilot Plus computers are 58 percent faster than the M3 MacBook Air.
Companies such as Lenovo, Dell, Acer and HP have said they will also release computers that will run on Microsoft’s new Copilot Plus software.
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Microsoft said the AI functionality runs on the device, so there’s no need to wait for data to be sent to or from a remote data center or pay for a subscription.
AI offerings will include live translation, image generation, and a state-of-the-art ability to interact with the computer through chats and simple prompts instead of clicking on files or drop-down menus.
Microsoft’s move to artificial intelligence has been celebrated by Wall Street, and the company is now the world’s largest company by market capitalization, dethroning Apple.
Microsoft is a major investor in OpenAI and has put in around $13 billion in cloud computing credits to meet the ChatGPT maker’s massive computing needs.
In turn, Microsoft depends on OpenAI models—such as GPT-4 for text or Dall-E for images—to add artificial intelligence to its products.
Nadella’s AI announcement follows those made last week by Google and ChatGPT maker Open AI.
Google has also announced that it is adding AI answers to its world-leading search engine, despite concerns that it could eat into its ad revenue or starve its website traffic.
“Artificial intelligence revolution”
Analysts believe the hunger for AI products is helping to propel Microsoft and Google into cloud computing, with clients willing to pay a premium to adopt ChatGPT-like features.
Media reports also suggest that Apple could announce a partnership between Apple and OpenAI.
Tech giants are rushing products out the door despite fears that generative artificial intelligence poses a threat to society.
