Do IT pros in charge of procurement need to think about AI-enabled PCs, or is the hardware only suitable for a niche audience?

AI-enabled PCs are designed to run AI and machine-learning workflows on local hardware, rather than relying completely on services delivered via the cloud. Linn Huang, research VP of devices and displays at IDC, said that IT professionals should, at the very least, explore how on-device AI could impact their organization.

For example, an employee using an AI-enabled PC might rely on local AI software to take notes on meetings, create action items, or analyze small datasets. The device can enable those AI functions without excessively chewing through battery life thanks to the neural processing unit (NPU), which is specialized architecture designed to facilitate AI operations.

These devices are also expensive: Huang added that organizations might hold off on purchasing because of the current prices, which can vary between $1,200 and $2,500, nearly twice what a “traditional” PC might cost.

Do your PCs need an AI upgrade?—CN

For many companies, AI is more essential every day—but integrating the technology into an organization’s stack requires a level of budgetary ninjitsu that’s not always straightforward for IT teams.

Demands on AI can come from anywhere: leadership, staff, users, and company boards. What they all have in common is a desire to see more of the technology within the organization’s day-to-day, integrated as smoothly as possible.

IT teams and IT leaders tasked with this integration are in a sticky spot. On the one hand, they’re facing reasonable demands to deploy the technology; on the other, spend is constrained, and teams are asked to do more with less.

Determining factors. Basel Kayyali, who co-leads McKinsey’s technology practice, told IT Brew at this year’s MIT Sloan CIO Symposium in Boston that it’s critical for IT teams to define what they want out of AI transformation.

Making the numbers work.—EH

AI-powered robots have entered the chat.

Gone are the days when sci-fi robots like R2-D2 seemed far, far away from reality. AI could potentially supercharge the robotics industry, making its products “smarter”—and more profitable, with analysts expecting it to grow into a $60.7 billion market by 2034.

What’s an AI-powered robot? To understand how AI will change robotics, you need to understand traditional robots, which are largely designed to perform repetitive tasks at scale.

“They’re rigid, but they’re good at what they do,” John Healy, VP and GM of Intel’s industrial and robotics division, told IT Brew. But AI-powered robots will leverage machine learning to analyze data and make decisions based on it, making them more responsive to change.

Robot revolution.—BM

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