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Quest for AI Leadership Pushes Microsoft Further Into Chip Development (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the race-to-forefront dept.

From a Bloomberg report: Tech companies are keen to bring cool artificial intelligence features to phones and augmented reality goggles -- the ability to show mechanics how to fix an engine, say, or tell tourists what they are seeing and hearing in their own language. But there's one big challenge: how to manage the vast quantities of data that make such feats possible without making the devices too slow or draining the battery in minutes and wrecking the user experience. Microsoft says it has the answer with a chip design for its HoloLens goggles -- an extra AI processor that analyzes what the user sees and hears right there on the device rather than wasting precious microseconds sending the data back to the cloud. The new processor, a version of the company's existing Holographic Processing Unit, is being unveiled at an event in Honolulu, Hawaii, today. The chip is under development and will be included in the next version of HoloLens; the company didn't provide a date. This is one of the few times Microsoft is playing all roles (except manufacturing) in developing a new processor. The company says this is the first chip of its kind designed for a mobile device. Bringing chipmaking in-house is increasingly in vogue as companies conclude that off-the-shelf processors aren't capable of fully unleashing the potential of AI. Apple is testing iPhone prototypes that include a chip designed to process AI, a person familiar with the work said in May. Google is on the second version of its own AI chips. To persuade people to buy the next generation of gadgets -- phones, VR headsets, even cars -- the experience will have to be lightning fast and seamless.

16 of 34 comments (clear)

  1. Silly PR statement by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    >> an extra AI processor that analyzes what the user sees and hears right there on the device rather than wasting precious microseconds sending the data back to the cloud

    If that's all they needed then they could just move one of those newfangled "cloud processors" into the goggles...since all it would be doing is exactly what they would have been doing in the cloud (with existing chips).

    1. Re:Silly PR statement by Solandri · · Score: 1

      The cloud processing is done in software, using general purpose processors (like the CPU in your PC). The AI algorithm in these new processors (usually developed via machine learning) is done in hardware - chips with the algorithm baked into the transistor layout.

      You want to do it in software on the cloud because cloud servers can be equipped with much more powerful processors, and you want your cloud server to also be able to handle other types of AI requests (e.g. voice recognition for digital assistants). You want to do it in hardware when it's done locally to reduce the cost and power consumption - same as how video decoding is done in hardware by the GPU on phones and streaming devices.

    2. Re:Silly PR statement by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      "Cloudy Goggles", there's a sales-boosting name for ya.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    3. Re:Silly PR statement by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Yeah, well, you get better press showing when you reveal your boring electronics geek stuff in Hawaii than you would if you held the same event in a windowless lab or a raining dreary place.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    4. Re:Silly PR statement by Luthair · · Score: 1

      Holographic Processing Unit

      Which is more marketing bullshit.

      a fully three-dimensional image of the holographed subject, which is seen without the aid of special glasses or other intermediate optics

    5. Re:Silly PR statement by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Now we just need an excuse.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    6. Re:Silly PR statement by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      Excuse? "Hi, I'm Clippy, you look like you have a problem my A.I. can solve."

  2. Microsoft and Hardware by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1, Troll

    Much like Google I don't think they get it, and immediately want to commoditize it such that it becomes junk quickly after it gets adopted. Even the XBox, Microsoft's one good entry into Hardware has suffered from atrophy to the point where most people I know would prefer a ps3/4, even with its relative warts wrt online issues.

    I guess when I read that microsoft is doing hardware, I have real doubts. These days i don't even trust their software.

    1. Re:Microsoft and Hardware by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      I don't think they get it, and immediately want to commoditize it such that it becomes junk quickly after it gets adopted. Even the XBox, Microsoft's one good entry into Hardware has suffered from atrophy to the point where most people I know would prefer a ps3/4

      Business-wise, it worked "good enough": MS got a foothold into the gaming market and is cruising with the Xbox. They just have to keep it "good enough" for it to be a cash cow in the oligopoly-land of game consoles. If they accidentally slip behind PS, they'll do something to catch up.

      Don't confuse business success with "good product" or "logic". For good or bad, being slimy is often profitable.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  3. Happy Life Buddy by gtall · · Score: 1

    HLB: Hi there, I'm your Happy Life Buddy from Microsoft, I'm here to explain your what you are seeing.

    User: I don't need you to tell me what I'm seeing.

    HLB: Are you sure? You act confused, everybody wants an HLB.

    User: Uh...no thanks, I'll do my life by myself.

    HLB: Have you examined all the possibilities for full enjoyment, I'm here to help.

    User: You can help me by SFTU and leaving me alone.

    HLB: No one wants to be alone, I'll keep you company.

    User: Gaccckkkk!! Please go away.

    HLB: Okay, how about we go over here and discuss aspects of your life.

    User: (pulls out gun and shoots self in head)

    HLB: Would you like me to explain the afterlife to you?

    1. Re:Happy Life Buddy by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Prior art. The new kids don't know about the Clippy era; arguably the first commercially-common annoying AI-like "assistant". MS pioneered agitation in many ways.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  4. Re:"microseconds"? by zlives · · Score: 1

    hahahahahahahaha.
    your property...
    hahahahahahahaha

  5. Microsoft and AI chip development by wings · · Score: 1

    DNRTFA, but the title makes me think: Oh, boy. Direct Hardware Support for Clippy.

  6. Software Makers, Chips, and Moore's Law by speedplane · · Score: 1

    The only reason why software makers such as MS and Google are starting to develop their old chips is due to the death of Moore's law. Intel and the like are unable to provide sufficient performance enhancements, so these software makers have to make custom chips for their specific purpose. These chips may provide close to an order of magnitude of performance, but they can't be improved upon unless the underlying material technology improves. Sadly, this does not bode well for the future of tech.

    --
    Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
    1. Re:Software Makers, Chips, and Moore's Law by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      Even if Moore's law was fully alive, an extra order of magnitude improvement over general purpose processors is still worth it.

    2. Re:Software Makers, Chips, and Moore's Law by speedplane · · Score: 1

      Even if Moore's law was fully alive, an extra order of magnitude improvement over general purpose processors is still worth it.

      If Moore's law was alive, then general purpose chips would get better faster than you could develop your own custom chip. The fact that they're creating their own chips is a sign that Moore's law is dead.

      --
      Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates