VOA科学技术2024--Microsoft Announces New PCs with Built-in AI

American software maker¹ Microsoft says it will release new computer models with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

The new computers will be equipped with a new version of Microsoft's existing AI tool, called Copilot. Copilot can operate across a series of Microsoft business products.

The Copilot service is based on OpenAI's ChatGPT tool, which launched in late 2022. ChatGPT is an AI tool designed to interact smoothly³ with humans and perform high-level writing and creative work. Such tools are also known as chatbots or generative AI.

Microsoft is a major investor⁴ in OpenAI. It is providing computing⁵ power and support for ChatGPT's operations.

Microsoft recently introduced the new tools at an event at its headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Chief executive Satya Nadella announced that the new computers will come loaded with the new Copilot+ system. The company said these new Windows-based PCs - which it calls "AI-ready" - will be "the fastest, most intelligent" ever built.

The event came one day before Microsoft's yearly developer conference. That is where Microsoft introduces its latest new products and services to developers and the public.

The announcement is Microsoft's latest move to deploy⁶ OpenAI's technology through Copilot to many product offerings. The system is already available for the company's Teams, Outlook, Bing search engine and Windows operating system.

Microsoft said its AI-based PCs will start being released on June 18 on the company's own Surface models. It will also be on PCs produced by partners. These include Lenovo, Dell, Acer and HP.

"These improvements provide the most compelling reason to upgrade your PC in a long time," said Microsoft Vice² President Yusuf Mehdi.

Microsoft said the AI operations on the new PCs will take place on the device itself rather than a cloud server. This means users will not have to wait for information to be sent to and from the company's data centers or pay extra money for this service.

Microsoft has also promised that any tracking activity will only be done and saved on the device, not on company servers. Users will also be able to choose not to be tracked, the company added.

The Copilot+ AI offerings include live language translation and image creation. It also offers the ability to interact with the PCs through voice commands instead of clicking to perform certain jobs.

The new offerings also include a tool called Windows Recall. This gives the Copilot+ assistant what Microsoft describes as a "photographic memory" of a person's computer activity. The tool is designed to remember the things a user does on the PC in an effort to predict what the user might want to do next.

It's a step toward machines that "instantly see us, hear, reason about our intent and our surroundings," Microsoft's Nadella said. He added: "We're entering this new era where computers not only understand us, but can actually anticipate what we want and our intent."

Nadella's announcement on AI comes shortly after some other major technology players announced new releases of their latest AI assistance systems.

Last week, Google introduced an improved search engine that shows brief AI-produced results before direct website links. The company also showed off an AI assistant called Astra, which is still in development. Astra is designed to be able to "see" and talk about things shown through a smartphone's camera.

OpenAI introduced its latest chatbot version, ChatGPT-4o last week. Company officials demonstrated the new tool, which showed improved human characteristics that can give opinions about things. The new version also comes with tools that aim to judge a person's emotions.

Words in This Story

compelling - adj. very exciting or interesting and making you want to watch, listen, etc.

upgrade - v. to improve something so that it is of a higher quality or a newer model

track - v. to follow the online activities of a user

translate - v. to change written or spoken words from one language to another

intent - n. what a person wants and plans to do

anticipate - v. to expect something or to prepare for something before it happens

characteristic - n. a typical quality that makes one person or thing different from others

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

6 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。