I recently attended the HP Imagine AI event, which laid out the full scope of the tech giant's plans for AI in both software and hardware, and was one of a slew of recent events, showcases and hands-ons from manufacturers eager to show media and buyers what they can offer in an increasingly crowded market.
While HP's offerings were very interesting and often seemed very useful, all of this raises a larger question: What is the purpose of all of this? Which leads to a second question: What is the real future of AI? Once you unpack all the hype around all these AI events, shiny new AI PCs, and a plethora of AI-powered software and tools, this is the fundamental question that remains.
After some thought, I think I've found a seemingly simple answer: accessibility. A simple answer, but one that has a lot of depth to it, as it unlocks the true potential of AI.
What did HP reveal?
HP began by taking a closer look at its mission statement on AI. To make AI a reality, specifics must demonstrate HP's leadership and galvanize the industry. The manufacturer also revealed that one of its main goals is to address users' concerns about reliability and establish a validation system for AI models. It also needs to address issues such as hallucinations, drift, and bias in AI data sets. However, time will tell whether HP can realize these ideals.
One of the main announcements was the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 with the AMD Ryzen AI 300 SoC, which has a 55 TOPS NPU, higher than AMD's standard 50 TOPS NPU, and is part of a collaboration between AMD and HP. It is also said to be 45% more powerful than Apple's M4 chip. This is a bold claim, and there is no concrete evidence to back it up with benchmark tests or anything like that, but if there is any truth to it, we could be looking at a truly impressive machine.
Finally, HP has unveiled AI software and tools that leverage its built-in AI. For example, Zoom noticed that 40% of users were using fake backgrounds and improved image quality while eliminating missing items for a more seamless look. Two editing programs, Djay Pro and Blackmagic Design, offer in-depth music and video editing tools that even beginners can use. And there's Loccus.ai, a safety and reliability AI tool that uses a trojan neuro network to combat audio deepfakes, one of the most deceptive and rapidly evolving types.
Accessibility is the purpose of AI
The two most promising AI programs I saw were both accessibility-based. Cephable is similar to Google's own Help Me Hands-Free tool in that it offers face tracking, head tracking, and voice input with voice recognition. This allows for alternative navigation methods for people who can't use a keyboard and trackpad or mouse. The tool runs through an AI-powered NPU, freeing up the processor and graphics card for other processes.
OmniBridge is a very useful tool currently under development, targeting an unfortunately niche and underserved market. The program translates sign language into both speech and text simultaneously. It does this by using AI that analyzes 3D space and interprets gestures in real time. The program is still in alpha, but it already recognizes 5,000 sign languages, with the end goal being to learn 10,000 sign languages to become fully fluent.
It's easy to see the potential of these two programs – not only for their benefits, but also for other types of accessible programs that can be created with AI. I hope to see many more AI tools developed in the future. It's really exciting to see what we can do with technology, not just for profit, but for the greater good.
Final thoughts
AI is rapidly permeating the tech industry, with every tech giant developing AI-based software and hardware to capitalize on this trend. Of course, like many recent technological advancements, AI comes with Incredible ecological costsAI will run out of the massive data centers needed to run both the generative AI and the cloud storage it frequently relies on. Lots of water and other resources.
Additionally, plagiarism is also a growing problem as AI is trained. Copyrighted music, paperPublications, Research, Art and photographyEtc. And unfortunately, while there are laws in place to address this issue, creators and journalists are still being pushed out of the industry in favor of companies that use these AI tools to create content instead.
But AI isn't necessarily a bad thing, and today there are ways to apply AI to help those who need these tools most. From what we saw at HP's Imagine AI event, the accessibility programs were by far the most creative and helpful. These programs addressed real-world challenges, demonstrated why AI is needed to solve them, and used the power of AI to help underserved markets. Not to mention, this same technology can run without interfering with other PC processes, so you can continue to be productive, creative, or even game while enjoying the assistance of these accessibility tools.
If we must suffer in a world where AI is so over-pervasive that much of it is actively harming others and the planet, all I want is for it to be used to truly help others: fewer tools on how to spy on employees using their phones on Zoom calls, and more tools to translate sign language into multiple spoken languages.
