We’re just half a month into the new year, but predictions that 2024 will be remembered as boom times for generative AI seem to be coming true already.
Microsoft got things rolling on Jan. 4 by announcing the biggest change to its keyboard design in nearly 30 years, adding a button that will give people direct access to its AI Copilot tool on new Windows 11 computers starting this month. Makes sense given that Microsoft has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT and the large language model that powers the Copilot service.Â
CNET’s Sareena Dayaram called the new keyboard button “a bold bid for AI dominance,” explaining how it will serve “as a physical portal to its Copilot service, which helps people perform tasks like summarizing documents, recommending music and answering questions you might ask a search engine or AI chatbot.”Â
For its part, Microsoft said its goal is to make genAI a part of everyday life, which doesn’t seem that far-fetched given that Windows is the most popular computer operating system and there are over 1 billion people using Windows today. On Jan. 15, the company announced new subscriptions services for Copilot, which Microsoft says has been part of more than 5 billion chat and created over 5 billion images so far. The consumer Copilot Pro is $20 a month (same pricing as ChatGPT Plus.)
“AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system, to the silicon, to the hardware,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer marketing chief, wrote in a post announcing the Copilot key. “This will not only simplify people’s computing experience but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the AI PC.”
It’s not just PCs that are getting an AI boost. Last week at CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, companies including Volkswagen, Intel, McDonald’s, L’Oreal and LG showcased AI-branded products and services. (You can find CNET’s complete coverage of CES here.) According to the Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES, over 230…
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