Artificial intelligence is moving from data centers to "the edge" as computer makers build the technology into laptops, robots, cars and more devices closer to home.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) gadget extravaganza closing Friday was rife with PCs and other devices touting AI chips, making them more capable than ever and untethering them from the cloud.
Attention-grabbing stars included "AI PCs," personal computers boasting chips that promised a level of performance once limited to muscular data centers.
"Whatever was running in the cloud last year is running on the edge this year," Kamesh Medapalli, senior vice president of innovation and technology at Infineon Technologies, told AFP.
"The pattern is already there and will only accelerate; the opportunity is huge on the edge."
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang got a celebrity reception at CES, where he announced a ramped-up line of graphics processing units (GPUs) that imbue PCs with AI capabilities.
Huang told a packed arena that nearly all computer makers are working with Nvidia to get ready "so AI PCs are coming to a home near you."
Huang unveiled "Project DIGITS," described as a personal AI supercomputer.
It features a new Nvidia "superchip" for prototyping, fine-tuning and running large AI models on desktop computing systems, according to the chip maker.
"AI will be mainstream in every application for every industry," Huang said.
"Placing an AI supercomputer on the desks of every data scientist, AI researcher and student empowers them to engage and shape the age of AI."
Project DIGITS signals that Nvidia's strategy for AI data centers is extending to consumers who want the technology on their own machines, according to University of Pennsylvania computer science professor Benjamin Lee.
Infineon's Medapalli said a shift to the edge means that functions like engaging with generative AI chatbots that once involved sending requests to be processed in data centers could be handled on a PC or smartphone.
"You don't have
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