If there’s one buzzword that’s inescapable in 2024…well, it’s probably “Israel” or “election” or “Musk.” But if there’s one that’s specific to the technology industry, it’s AI. Fortunes are being made on that interest, in a way hauntingly reminiscent of the crypto boom and subsequent bust. And absolutely everyone wants to get in on the former and avoid the latter.
“Everyone” in this case includes pretty much every possible technology company. While OpenAI is at the center of this particular gold rush, and Nvidia is selling the shovels to digital forty-niners, more conventional players aren’t resting on their haunches. As happens with buzzwords, it’s quickly becoming diluted — every new PC is an “AI PC,” which means very little for actual users.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
But as for the generative tools that “AI” refers to, there seem to be two general approaches. Every company is either hitching its wagon to ChatGPT’s star, as Microsoft is doing with its Copilot system, or hoping to be the next one to shine bright, like Google with its Bard Gemini system or Apple with its forthcoming generative AI.
Technology’s hottest club is ‘AI’
Unlike the crypto boom, generative AI is something that pretty much anyone can use, even if they don’t have to understand it. You can punch a request for, say, a limerick about the new Fallout TV show with just a few keystrokes. It won’t be particularly good, but anyone can see why you’d prefer a computer to do the thinking for you in a few seconds instead of trying to create lines in your slow human meat brain for 10 or 20 minutes. The appeal is undeniable and universal.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Perhaps that’s why these companies are so desperate to put AI front-and-center in their interfaces, both physical and digital. Microsoft is making all new Windows laptops come with a dedicated Copilot key, literally forcing users to interact with its ChatGPT interface in an even more immediate way than sticking it on the taskbar. Google is replacing Assistant, one of Android’s most long-running and distinctive features, with Gemini, to mixed results.
