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- 🥪🤖 The Dawn of AI Powered Devices
The Dawn of AI Powered Devices:
I’m not talking about recent failures like the Rabbit R1.
(Will discuss at a later date if anyone’s interested?)
I’m talking about Apple Intelligence, Microsoft Recall.
The iPhone 16 and Copilot+ PC.
AI is being integrated into devices as we speak.
But these devices are seemingly the newest, most expensive models.
A Copilot+ PC will set you back over £1000.
A new iPhone is usually £799 at minimum.
It’s a little bit like a nightclub that charges a ridiculous amount for entry.
In this newsletter, I’ll explain why they have to charge so much.
Then I’ll tell you about the options on your doorstep that don’t charge for entry.
Crazy entry fee - justified?
Why are these devices so expensive?
What makes them different?
How are they AI powered?
All three of these questions boil down to the same answer.
The inclusion of a Neural Processing Unit or NPU.
Some of you may be familiar with different processing units in a computer.
GPU = Graphics Processing Unit.
CPU = Central Processing Unit.
An NPU is a specialised processor that accelerates AI based tasks.
Taking this responsibility away from CPUs and GPUs.
This provides faster performance and better efficiency for AI workloads.
It also means that all AI operations can happen within your device. Previously they may have been offloaded to the cloud.
This is important for features like Microsoft Recall.
Microsoft Recall takes snaps of your Copilot+ PC’s screen throughout your day to allow you to “recall” moments using AI.
Can’t remember the name of the article you were reading in the morning? Start typing information about it and Microsoft Recall will find it.
Pretty cool, but also has the potential to be an episode of Black Mirror.
Therefore, for privacy and data security, all recall operations happen locally on your device.
This means Microsoft shouldn’t be able to view anything that you’ve been doing. They shouldn’t be spying on your data.
To do this requires the NPU.
Therefore a lot of the reasoning behind including an NPU is to have powerful AI features, that are ran privately on your device.
However, these NPUs are expensive, which is part of what hikes up the price of these new devices.
What other options do you have?
If you can afford a new Copilot+ PC or iPhone 16, and are happy with all the privacy and security, then I say go for it.
But, for those looking for other cheaper options like myself, what can you do?
I’ve put together a simple list of FREE AI tools you can start using TODAY:
Use perplexity.ai to research topics.
Use chatgpt.com for helping you with tasks.
Short list I know! But I’d be lying if I tried to overcomplicate it
This is what I use every day to be 10x more productive.
If I need to know something, I use Perplexity.
If I need to do something I use ChatGPT - I dive deep into how to use ChatGPT here:
My example workflow looks something like:
Find a problem area.
Research problem area using Perplexity.
Understand Perplexity’s topic summary, then, read deeper into the articles it provided as reference.
Given knowledge, can ChatGPT help?
If yes (most of the time) use new found knowledge to provide informed instructions to ChatGPT for the best output.
I don’t need a fancy device yet, and you don’t either.
As with all things, with time and new developments, these will become more affordable for the average consumer.
But don’t wait, start using the tools available to you today and be prepared for tomorrow.
Thanks for reading this, if you enjoyed subscribe to my newsletter for AI every Wednesday on your lunch break. 🥪
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