Microsoft at AMD at CES: Artificial intelligence will change everything, as the mouse once did

Hardware needs software, AMD President Lisa Su announced Microsoft’s Panos Panay at the keynote at the CES 2023 technology fair. The two companies have been cooperating for a long time – for example on Azure and Xbox consoles with AMD processors. Now it’s all about bringing in artificial intelligence (AI) – both in hardware and in software.

Banai is the Product Manager (CPO) at Microsoft and leads the Hardware and Windows division. In his guest appearance, he explains that AI will change everything, including Windows. The introduction of artificial intelligence into the operating system is compared to the input of a mouse. “AI will reinvent everything you do with Windows — literally,” says Banai.

As an example of the use of AI so far, it brings video conferencing and Windows Studio effects: background blurring, eye contact and automatic image frame selection allow users not to see the AI, but to feel it. It is important now that, thanks to AMD AI, neither the CPU nor the GPU is affected, that is, neither the battery nor the performance. In order to be able to use large generative models, operating systems will be required in the future that blur the line between the cloud and the end device. Banai’s version of the (Windows) future isn’t more specific, but he reiterates Microsoft’s overarching goal: “Our mission is to empower every person and every company through technology.”

There have been rumors that Microsoft wants to integrate ChatGPT into its Bing search engine and use artificial intelligence to revamp the search. The chatbot is developed by OpenAI, a company that is financially backed strongly by Microsoft.

AMD AI coprocessors

AMD has integrated an AI (Ryzen AI) coprocessor into its “Phoenix” mobile processor, which is intended to help improve the webcam image in video conferencing, for example. The corresponding knowledge comes from the acquired Xilinx and will be expanded over the next few years: AMD promises more developments in terms of both hardware and software – so other CPU series will follow.

Phoenix will initially appear as Ryzen 9 7940HS, Ryzen 7 7840HS, and Ryzen 5 7640HS for high-end laptops. Intel is also integrating an AI accelerator into its next-generation notebook processor, Meteor Lake. It should appear by the end of the year.

(emw)