They say artificial intelligence has unlimited potential, but can it make our jobs more enjoyable? Yes, according to HP.
When HP talks about “work,” it means knowledge workers (people who work in offices) who are most likely to use the company’s hardware and services. In that realm, where remote and flexible work have become top priorities and almost default scenarios, business leaders and their employees are struggling.
In his Industrial Relations IndexHP has found that the average knowledge worker is concerned about their “relationship” with work. The index surveyed 15,600 people and only 28% of respondents said that relationship is healthy.
That was just a one-point increase compared to the same survey conducted for HP Imagine 2023. Simply put, how we currently feel about work isn't that great.
HP suggests there are two potential solutions to improve this: one is AI and the other is more personalized work experiences. Although, digging into the details, HP’s index also suggests that workers want more collaboration and better working hours, but also improvements in work environments and management practices. However, it is AI that the company has focused on.
“When you're working, you care about being productive, you care about not having to wait, you care about getting the best performance from AI,” said Alex Cho, president of HP Personal Systems, on stage at HP Imagine 2024. “We're going to raise the bar with AI performance.”
It’s true that using AI to solve these problems feels like technology is being used to solve technology’s problems. There’s only so much we can do with video conferencing software or screen time management; taking a break and getting outside for some fresh air is still one of the best ways to improve productivity.
However, we are in the era of AI-powered PCs, and HP's index creates the idea that AI can drive better relationships between people and their office jobs.
Furthermore, the demand for AI-powered computers is higher than ever. A recent study by AltIndex.com, using data from Statista and Canalys, shows that six out of ten computers sold in 2027 will be AI-powered computers – three times more than what is expected to be sold by the end of 2024.
Manufacturers are the main drivers of this trend, promoting AI PCs as premium products and even abandoning popular lines in favor of new NPU-based models.
Are computers becoming personal?
HP believes the future of work is “personal.” This means devices (and perhaps even software) should be more personalized to the user. This sounds a lot like HP Imagine 2023, which was about AI helping to create a “personal companion” rather than a personal computer.
In 2023, Cho spoke about the impending AI revolution as a huge opportunity to radically change the PC for the better. He spoke of a world where the keyboard and mouse would be left behind and replaced by the advancement of language models and sensors that recognise gestures or biometrics.
While the devices on display at HP Imagine 2024 didn't go that far, there were some innovative laptops and services that take the company a step further in that direction.
The launch of a new business-focused AI notebook, the EliteBook X, for example, promises to empower workers with locally processed data and a newly developed memory architecture that can reach 8000Mbps on 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM.
AI is also being incorporated into printer hardware and print services. The way IT teams monitor and resolve technical issues on HP equipment has also been modified with AI so that it can be centrally controlled and partially automated.
Will all this make us happy? We'll probably have to wait until next year's Industrial Relations Index to find out.