The phrase "AI PC" is the newest buzzword to enter the zeitgeist, and it sounds great—we'd all love a PC that can perform tasks with artificial intelligence, like shopping for us or grooming our pets—but what is required for a computer to earn this moniker? Intel and Microsoft have now given this question some thought, and at a recent AI conference, they laid down clear requirements for what makes a computer an AI PC.
Previously, an Intel executive revealed his version of Intel's thoughts on what constitutes an AI PC, saying it was essentially a new CPU that offers a neural processing engine. Now it appears Intel and Microsoft have collaborated to come up with a description both companies agree with, at least as far as PC OEMs that want to build AI PCs are concerned. According to Tom's Hardware, the main requirement for an AI system from Intel is to have a neural processing engine (NPU) inside the CPU, which means a Core Ultra processor. In addition to having an NPU, Intel says this chunk of silicon must be capable of 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of performance.
This level of NPU performance will allow AI-powered software like Microsoft Copilot to run on-device instead of in the cloud, according to Intel. However, this is all kind of murky right now. In comments to Tom's Hardware at the conference, Intel was a bit hedgy about this, saying "elements" of Copilot could run on "next-gen." For Intel, next-gen is arriving later this year, so we'll likely learn more about what Intel means when Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake launch.
Intel and Microsoft also say that for a computer to be considered a legit AI PC, it has to have the NPU described above and Microsoft Copilot and a Copilot key on the keyboard. The NPU thing makes sense since some applications will run faster with dedicated hardware, but saying a PC requires Copilot and a key on the keyboard is gilding the lily. Microsoft wants everyone to use Copilot, but nobody needs a key on the keyboard as much as they need an NPU, so this seems like a bit of a reach.
Regardless, AI PCs won't take shape until the next-gen arrives later this year, as neither AMD nor Intel's CPUs currently provide 40 TOPS of NPU performance. As Tom's notes, AMD is at 39 TOPS, while Intel is at 34. Plus, AMD's Ryzen 7000-series CPUs don't even include NPUs, just like Intel's desktop chips exclude them, but that will change when next-gen processors launch later this year. We're also curious to hear what AMD's number is for an AI PC and have reached out for its comment.
Update 3/29/24: An AMD spokesperson responded with the following: "We believe in the necessity of strong CPU, GPU, and NPU engines for AI PCs, an area where AMD excels with our Ryzen 7040 and 8040 Series. At our December Advancing AI event, we introduced our next-gen 'Strix Point' mobile processors, boasting up to 3x the generative AI performance of current models. This advancement reinforces our leadership in AI PC technology."
