The recent launches of more artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled devices, especially PCs and smartphones, provide consumers with AI assistants that will enable them to perform tasks conveniently and efficiently, according to tech analysts.
NEW AGE
Maciek Gornicki, senior research manager for devices at IDC Asia/Pacific, told the Bangkok Post that following multiple AI-related announcements at last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, the IT industry is excited about the impact of AI on PCs.
The CES in Las Vegas typically serves as a preview of how tech giants and startups will market their wares in the coming year, with AI-enabled products the new rage. (Photo: Bloomberg)
The launches included AMD's Ryzen 8000 series of processors, the full line-up of Intel's 14th Gen processors as well as a wide range of laptops running new AI-enabled Intel Core Ultra processors.
These products are expected to open up new use cases for PCs, including in the business, professional and consumer fields, he said.
Microsoft is expected to roll out significant updates to Windows 11, enabling further AI computational capabilities on devices.
Mr Gornicki said all these developments are expected to enhance the PC user experience and productivity, from automating simple tasks such as using a personal AI assistant for recording, transcribing and summarising meetings, to enabling faster video editing and automating repetitive tasks.
"With all these new scenarios, AI-enabled PCs create multiple opportunities for PC vendors and users, as well as independent software vendors," he said.
"The effect on PC sales is likely to be modest. While IDC believes that AI is likely to have a significant impact on the PC industry in the long term, it is unlikely to drive market volumes back to the record-high levels seen during the pandemic-related spike in demand in 2020 and 2021.
"Although the AI capabilities are interesting and potentially even game-changing for some industries, we are likely to witness a gradual replacement of the PC installed base over the coming years. What is certain is AI PCs will help drive the price of PCs up, contributing to the growth of the premium segment in the short term."
AI agents
Panutat Tejasen, a programming pioneer and the founder of ThaiGPT Co, said the new AI capabilities in terms of processors, computers, smartphones and consumer appliances will lead to an "AI agent" that will change the user interface between people and machines, reducing the use of touchscreens.
AI agents, also known as intelligent agents, are software programs that use AI and machine learning algorithms to perform tasks and interact with users.
Most AI agents are chatbots or virtual assistants.
The interface of an AI agent looks like a chat window where users can communicate with the AI via text and describe tasks.
Some AI agents have a voice interface and understand vocal commands, making them easy to use.
Users now open an application to perform a specific task, such as a money transfer, browsing social media or listening to music.
With an AI agent, the user can issue a command by voice or typing in text to tell the app to purchase a product, compare prices using different shopping apps, or check the price history, Mr Panutat said.
Existing mobile apps will need to change their user interfaces to support AI agents in the near future and software developers can see additional opportunities to capitalise on the agents, he said.
AI agents can be both software and hardware, said Mr Panutat.
Moreover, the use of multi-modal AI technology, which combines voice and image recognition with natural language processing, enables smart-home AI agents in the form of robots to understand context and intention as well as actively communicate with users.
"AI agents can improve over time, effectively handling user inquiries much more efficiently, conveniently and intelligently," he said.
Home AI agents can control smart-home gadgets and gather temperature and air quality data, and they are able to learn, comprehend and engage in complex conversations.
"AI innovation is poised to raise the digital economy's impact by up to one-third of global GDP," Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger said at the company's recent "AI Everywhere" event in New York City.
Mr Gelsinger said Intel's AI portfolio strengthened with the launch of Intel Core Ultra processors, ushering in the age of the AI PC, along with the AI-accelerated 5th Gen Xeon processor family for enterprises.
The company is partnering with more than 100 software vendors to bring several hundred AI-powered apps to the PC market. For consumer and commercial customers, this means a larger and more extensive set of AI-enhanced apps.
In 2024, Intel Core Ultra will bring AI to more than 230 designs developed by laptop and PC makers worldwide, he said.
"AI PCs will comprise 80% of the PC market by 2028 and will bring new tools to the way we work, learn and create," Mr Gelsinger said.
CONTENT CREATORS
Andrew Bolwell, the global head of HP Tech Ventures, told the Bangkok Post generative AI is going to create a new wave of content creators.
HP Spectre x360 14 inch 2-in-1 Laptop PC
With larger screens and more CPU power, this will make PCs more suitable for tasks such as music composition and cinematography, he said.
Moreover, there will be a shift of AI from the cloud network to edge devices, meaning the processing will occur closer to where most data is generated and used.
This move towards edge computing is expected to enhance processing speed and reduce latency, said Mr Bolwell.
He predicts the democratisation of AI and envisions a future in which individuals have their own personalised AI models to assist with various aspects of their lives.
"The PC will be a companion for humans, becoming an even more important part of people's lives, with AI personalisation, more tailoring and customisation on PCs," said Mr Bolwell.
Peter Marrs, president of Asia-Pacific and Japan at Dell Technologies, said AI is a strong tailwind for all things data.
There are some AI-enabled architectures that are helping to drive a commercial PC refresh cycle, he said.
AI is making its way out to the edge and to the PC, so we will see the demand for these devices start to change in order to support AI use cases, said Mr Marrs.
"In the future, users may need a higher performance PC to take full advantage of this," he said.
"AI will extend from the edge of the network in factories into the data centre, out to the cloud and back out to the PC."
CREATIVITY UNLEASHED
According to global tech research firm Canalys, a new generation of AI-enabled PCs will transform the way people work. A hybrid of cloud and on-device computing will enable people to supercharge their productivity and unleash their creativity.
The shift towards the AI PC era will greatly improve performance, security and personalisation, said the firm.
Canalys predicts the adoption of AI-enabled PCs will initially be limited to specific business functions and tech-savvy users who require powerful hardware to run intensive AI workloads.
But in five years, AI-capable PC proliferation will be driven by the emergence of a marketplace of fine-tuned large language models and AI tools, as well as revamped operating systems defined by strong AI integration.
As the software catches up to take full advantage of AI-capable PCs, adoption will gather steam in 2025 as the second generation of AI-enabled PCs coincides with the market replacement cycle forecast.
Deployment will steadily expand to other business functions and Canalys predicts that by 2027, 60% of PCs will be AI-capable.
According to Samsung, the company intends to offer a flagship model of the Galaxy S24 Series by Jan 18 with a mobile AI experience, powered by both on-device AI developed at Samsung and cloud-based AI enabled by open collaborations with industry leaders.
Visitors play VRLCO augmented reality games last Wednesday at the 2024 CES in Las Vegas. (Photo: Bloomberg)