What is an AI PC ? by Ross Capps

Chances are, if you ask 10 different people, “What is an AI PC?” you’ll get 10 different answers. This is true for any groundbreaking technology in its early days. It’s challenging to predict the future and envision what the world will look like.

So, what exactly is an AI PC?

An AI PC comprises a CPU, a GPU, and an NPU, each with unique AI acceleration capabilities. An NPU, or neural processing unit, is a specialised accelerator designed to handle artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tasks directly on your PC, eliminating the need to send data to the cloud for processing. While the GPU and CPU can also handle these workloads, the NPU excels at low-power AI calculations. This represents a fundamental shift in how our computers operate. It’s not a solution to a problem that didn’t exist before; instead, it promises significant improvements in everyday PC usage.

How does it work?

In contrast to generative AI and the massive large language models (LLMs) trained on vast amounts of public data, the AI that will be integrated into your PC is more accessible and user-friendly. The concept is easier to comprehend, and since it’s trained on your data without requiring cloud access, the benefits are more immediately appealing to a broader audience.

In the near term, the AI PC landscape will feature personal assistants and smaller AI models running directly on your PC, utilising your data to provide personalised, private, and more secure AI enhancements for everyday tasks. These enhancements could include taking meeting minutes, writing emails, automating photo and video editing, or even generating itineraries for meetings based on information from related emails or documents.

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