HP Introduces AI Features in Its AI PCs
Among the HP-provided AI options, essentially the most fascinating is an on-device AI chatbot, HP AI Companion, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4. Packaged as an app, it provides common AI chatbot capabilities the place customers can ask queries and get responses. It additionally has an Analyze characteristic the place customers can add paperwork, PDFs, and textual content recordsdata, and the AI will course of them and reply questions on them. The firm says the AI chatbot features solely offline, so the info by no means leaves the machine.
Additionally, HP is integrating new AI options into the webcam powered by Poly, the corporate it acquired in November 2022. Users get entry to options corresponding to Spotlight that enhance the lighting of the individual within the body, background blur, AI-powered filters, and auto framing. Apart from that, Poly Studio additionally enhances sound high quality and reduces noise.
Further, the enterprise-focused units are additionally outfitted with HP Wolf Pro Security NGAV, an anti-virus software program which makes use of machine studying to study and replace itself about new virus and malware assaults.
Understanding HP’s AI Offerings
HP’s AI choices are fascinating, as it’s the solely laptop computer producer that has launched first-party AI options. However, it additionally raises a couple of questions. The HP AI Companion, whereas a useful gizmo, shall be competing with Microsoft’s Copilot’s chatbot capabilities. The selection of going for the closed mannequin GPT-4 as an alternative of an open-source mannequin corresponding to Mixtral or Llama can also be fascinating.
Gadgets 360 spoke with Vineet Gehani, Senior Director – Personal Systems class, HP India, to decode these questions and simplify the more and more aggressive AI PC phase. During the interplay, we lined the above-mentioned matters and tried to grasp the relevance of AI PCs in current occasions.
HP AI Companion: A Secure Way to Use AI Chatbots
HP’s AI Companion, powered by GPT-4, is localised solely inside the machine. There is an possibility out there to attach it to the server for extra complicated duties, however the consumer has the choice whether or not or to not flip it on. At first look, this could seem like a safer possibility in comparison with server-based AI chatbots.
HP AI Companion
“Everybody desires to do extra, however they need to do it for themselves and never essentially from a public sharing perspective. That is the place the non-public HP AI Companion helps. That’s the place all of the safety features are available in.” Gehani mentioned. He additional added, taking in a holistic perspective of knowledge safety, “We stand by the moral use of AI capabilities. We have the best firewalling and the best safety outfitted in opposition to that.”
But will a first-party native AI create friction with Microsoft? The query is related since Microsoft is aggressively pushing to dominate the AI PC house with the devoted Copilot button, and its Windows OS comes with a number of Copilot-powered options. However, whereas Copilot sits on the machine, the processing of the queries and technology of responses takes place on the cloud, which could make some customers apprehensive about information safety and privateness.
However, Gehani doesn’t imagine there may be any scope for friction. “We see this to be complementary. Microsoft is enriching the AI ecosystem with Copilot options corresponding to Cocreate and Live Captions. HP is providing a layer over that. I do not see this as competing however as a complementary service.”
The Need for a Dedicated Copilot Key
While asserting the AI PC terminology, Microsoft urged unique tools producers (OEMs) so as to add a Copilot key to qualify their machine as both Copilot PC or Copilot+ PC. However, does the important thing maintain any relevance for the tip shopper?
“It provides you AI at your fingertips and makes utilizing the AI that a lot simpler. You can simply faucet the button to take the app stay with out having to navigate it through a number of clicks. It provides a greater expertise and makes it extra intuitive, Gehani defined.
The Relevance of AI PCs
Despite AI PCs arriving in the marketplace, the common shopper doesn’t have numerous use case for it. While asking the chatbot a bunch of questions is perhaps enjoyable for some time, the novelty wears off quickly. Microsoft has provided a number of fascinating options, however apps and experiences are nonetheless restricted as a result of lack of third-party apps with AI integration. The query that arises is whether or not the tip shopper ought to put money into units which have a robust neural processing unit (NPU) however not sufficient use circumstances for them.
“We take a look at this from two lenses. For enterprise customers, it’s about information scientists having the ability to do extra. It is about company customers getting extra real-time inference from their workflows. There are additionally use circumstances of doing the work sooner, extra collaboratively, and multitasking,” Gehani mentioned, highlighting that these options are already out there with the present technology of AI PCs.
For the retail customers, it’s an evolving journey, defined the HP India Senior Director. While AI can and can present newer experiences and options sooner or later. Currently, a giant focus can also be on bettering the present options. Giving a couple of examples, Gehani mentioned generative AI can also be helping in bettering hybrid work experiences, making audio and video conferences extra intuitive, and offering a greater battery life in a transportable machine. He claims that HP laptops have already made vital developments in offering these experiences. As far as new experiences are involved, Gehani stays assured that these will quickly arrive as effectively.
