AI is no longer merely writing phishing emails. It is probing networks, exploiting access and directing intrusions at scale. As investigations expose both malicious agents and runaway security tools, businesses face a defining question: who controls the software acting on their behalf in real time?
IBM survived Washington and still lost the layer that mattered. Wall Street now fears the same fate for AI: the Nasdaq in correction, Seoul halting trades, CoreWeave’s default insurance at a record. Congress may not stop the race. Whoever controls the power, chips and credit may decide it instead.
Wall Street’s post-election relief gave way to a sharp AI sell-off last night, as investors weighed construction delays, borrowing costs and political scrutiny. With chipmakers leading the losses, the question is becoming more urgent: which businesses can afford to wait for the promised returns?
Microsoft's Build conference will showcase AI in Windows, featuring tools like Copilot. With Google's Gemini AI and OpenAI's GPT-4o, Microsoft aims to stay ahead in AI, drive PC upgrades, and introduce AI PCs with Neural Processing Units (NPUs).
This week, join us again with the AI Arms Race series as we cover Microsoft’s Build developer conference, kicking off on Tuesday.
This event provides Microsoft an opportunity to showcase its latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).
One of Microsoft’s distinct advantages is its ownership of Windows, which commands a massive PC user base.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted this during a keynote, stating, "2024 will mark the year when AI becomes a first-class part of every PC".
The company already integrates its Copilot chatbot assistant in the Bing search engine and offers it as a premium feature in its Office productivity software. Now, users will learn how AI will be embedded in Windows, transforming the capabilities of new AI PCs.
Just days before Microsoft’s conference, Google’s I/O event unveiled its most powerful AI model yet, demonstrating how its Gemini AI will enhance both computers and phones.
"Our advancements with Gemini signify a new era of intelligent, personalised computing" Google CEO Sundar Pichai remarked.
The search giant also revealed "GEMS" - its answer to OpenAI's custom AI models that can be finetuned for specialised tasks like being a "yoga bestie or calculus tutor."
With Gemini being deeply integrated into Google Workspace, Chrome, and even Search itself , one thing is clear: Google is going all-in on a future where AI assistants become our primary way of interacting with computers.
"Imagine being able to summarise a 500-page report with a single prompt or generate insightful visualisations from complex datasets," said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. "Gemini 1.5 Pro empowers users to accomplish more in less time, unlocking new levels of productivity."
Prior to Google’s event, OpenAI announced its new GPT-4o model. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasised the transformative potential of their new model, stating, "GPT-4o sets a new standard for what AI can achieve, and we’re just scratching the surface".
As OpenAI’s lead investor, Microsoft’s Copilot technology is based on OpenAI’s models. The challenge for Microsoft is maintaining its prominent position in AI while also boosting PC sales, which have seen a downturn following the pandemic-induced upgrade cycle.
"We remain bullish on the PC market recovery due to positive customer feedback and recent upward revisions to notebook ODM builds" Erik Woodring, a Morgan Stanley analyst, noted in a recent report.
Gartner reported a 0.9% increase in PC shipments in the last quarter, marking a slight recovery from a multi-year slump. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood noted, "Demand for PCs was slightly better than expected," during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
New AI tools from Microsoft could incentivize both enterprise and consumer customers to upgrade their ageing computers. Bernstein analysts wrote, "While Copilot for Windows does not directly drive monetization, it should increase Windows usage, customer stickiness, and likely search revenue".
A key addition to AI PCs is the Neural Processing Unit (NPU), designed to handle AI tasks beyond the capabilities of traditional CPUs.
While Microsoft has not detailed the offline capabilities of AI PCs, examples from Google’s Pixel 8 Pro show potential uses like summarising and transcribing recordings and recommending text responses.
Intel’s latest Lunar Lake chips with NPUs are expected by late 2024, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip mid-year, and AMD’s latest Ryzen Pro this quarter.
Apple has been using NPUs for years, with its new M4 chip expected to debut in the next round of Macs.
Qualcomm, unlike Intel and AMD, offers Arm-based chips, which boast longer battery life and thinner designs.
Microsoft’s Build conference will discuss thenext generation of Windows on Arm, emphasising how Windows operates on Qualcomm chips compared to Intel and AMD versions.
Microsoft will also host sessions like “AI Everywhere” to explore accelerating generative AI models on cloud-based devices.
An “Azure AI Studio” session will delve into how developers can create their own Copilot chatbots, potentially transforming how companies interact with their employees.
As the AI arms race continues, Microsoft’s strategic moves in integrating AI with its vast PC ecosystem could set new benchmarks in the industry, positioning the company as a pivotal player in the future of intelligent computing.
Wall Street’s post-election relief gave way to a sharp AI sell-off last night, as investors weighed construction delays, borrowing costs and political scrutiny. With chipmakers leading the losses, the question is becoming more urgent: which businesses can afford to wait for the promised returns?
ServiceNow’s AI Passport aims to govern what enterprise AI agents can do, using signed credentials and runtime checks. With NVIDIA supporting enforcement, the test is whether permissions can be upheld and revoked across third-party systems as businesses move agents into production safely at scale.
Nine years late, Tesla’s Roadster flipped, hovered and leapt over its siblings at a SpaceX rocket test site. Shares jumped, then fell. Social feeds caught fire. What Musk really unveiled was one engineering stack wearing two corporate badges. Success is not guaranteed. Excitement, as ever, is.
Donald Trump has handed America's highest science honours to Musk, Huang, Brin, Su, Nadella and Dell, crowning the builders of AI's chips, clouds and rockets. His maxim that whoever wins AI wins leaves no silver medal, and middle powers like Australia must now choose between partner and tenant.
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