The future is now – are you ready for AI?
Do you understand AI? Would you know an AI laptop if you saw one? AI is already integrating itself into the workplace and you need to be ready for it.
Are you ready for AI?
We’re not talking about putting rations in the bunker and preparing for Skynet to take over the world. We’re talking about the ever-growing number of apps, programs and software that are powered by AI. The most well-known is probably ChatGPT. However, AI can be found anywhere. If you know a designer they may well have mentioned that both Canva and Adobe Photoshop have recently launched text-to-image functionality to their platforms, and workflow systems like Monday.com are using AI tools to automate your processes to improve efficiency.
To illustrate the size of AI Lenovo have recently hit $2 billion in annual AI infrastructure revenue, and the vendor plans to invest $1 billion in AI in the next few years.
The question is not, will you use AI but rather is your IT ready for AI?
What is an AI-ready PC?
AI PCs is exactly that: laptops equipped with components capable of handling AI-accelerated software and associated workloads. Users will experience latency and slow processing on a regular laptop if they run AI workloads. With the AI era upon us, developers of popular creative software and other productivity-related applications are releasing more AI-powered features. This means users with an AI PC will experience more benefits and higher productivity when creating or working.
AI-related components usually include strong central processing units (CPUs) that feature Neural Processing Units (NPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) that have AI tensor cores. NPUs are designed for accelerating AI tasks and AI tensor cores serve as the basis for deep learning workloads that enable significant speedups in AI performance. Other smart micro-processing units such as Vision Processing Units (VPUs) that come in AI PCs also contribute to the smooth operation of specific AI features.
Be AI ready with the Intel Ultra Processor
At the beginning of May 2024, Intel announced it surpassed 500 AI models running optimised on new Intel® Core™ Ultra processors opening a new world of laptop power and portability for the mid-2020s. Discrete-level built-in graphics for creating and gaming. New power management techniques to extend battery life in high-performance settings. And pulling it all together—an innovative on-chip Artificial Intelligence engine that accelerates today’s all-important AI workloads.
Intel’s contributions to the AI development community have made the Core Ultra processor the fastest-growing AI processor to date. In October 2023, Intel launched an AI Developer Program.
Then, the company added even more programs in 2024 to promote building AI applications and hardware. Part of that initiative included providing hands-on lab time to developers with Intel’s new Core Ultra Meteor Lake NUC development kit.
The sheer number of AI models supported by Intel’s Core Ultra matters because they form
“the backbone of AI-enhanced software features like object removal, image super-resolution or text summarization,”
the chipmaker said in its press release. More optimised models mean more AI features developers can bring to users.
Lenovo riding the wave.
As you would expect from the market leader, Lenovo are already working closely with Intel integrating the Core Ultra processors across their lineup of work, home, and gaming laptops. Intel Core Ultra processors are built differently so they perform differently:
- Dedicated processing support for AI-enabled tasks
- Available Intel® Arc™ graphics for superior visuals
- Specialized low-power processing to limit power drain
Lenovo is already promoting its range of AI-ready laptops and you need to be ready because we are already moving past the early adopter stage, Ikonic fully expects your customers to be asking you for AI-ready laptops as early as Q1 2025.
Find out more
If you want to learn more about how Ikonic are preparing for AI, then contact our Lenovo Product Manager at [email protected] or to find out more about Ikonic’s range of Lenovo visit our page here.
