If Dell has its way, copilot and settings will be more closely intertwined in the future. (Source: stock.adobe.com – curtbauer)
Microsoft seems to have a New Year’s resolution: to put AI in every corner of its products, whether Windows, Edge, Bing or Teams.
Many of these projects, such as the Bing AI or the Microsoft Copilot as a Cortana replacement, have already been implemented – further functions apparently appear to be planned with the release of Windows 12.
But Microsoft’s partner companies also seem to have ideas about how AI could expand the Redmond company’s operating system. For example, Dell is showing a demonstration of how Windows could save us from having to dig through the settings in the future.
Dell shows AI demo for Windows Settings
What happened? The website Gizmodo reports on a demonstration by Dell showing possible AI applications for Windows. The concept includes a dedicated button for calling up the text AI Copilot. In the demonstration, the key replaces the right Alt key next to the space bar.
In addition, Dell shows how it imagines AI-supported adjustment of settings in the future. Less experienced users could instruct the chatbot to open the appropriate Windows options directly instead of having to first click through the Windows settings menus.
But the demo goes one step further. Because Dell can also imagine that the copilot will be responsible for adjusting the settings entirely for us in the future. The example here is a notebook that connects to a public WiFi network. The AI could then directly tighten the security settings of the computer.
However, it is important to note that the demo only contains concepts that Dell believes will be possible on future versions of Windows. The demonstration is not an indication that Microsoft itself is already working on corresponding functions.
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Why is that important? While Windows power users might roll their eyes, the corresponding AI functions could save time and effort, especially for less experienced users. This would make it unnecessary to search the internet for instructions on where to find the settings.
Additionally, automatically adjusting settings could provide greater convenience and security for users who do not adapt their options to changing circumstances.
And a dedicated AI key on the keyboard may be a better use of space than the rarely used keys these days like the Windows button, Alt Gr or some function keys.
Looking outside the box: Dell’s demo isn’t entirely out of thin air. Windows settings already adjust automatically in the background, especially on laptops, if you want them to. For example, the notebook automatically switches to power-saving mode when the battery is empty, or adjusts the heat of the display light to the environment at a certain time.
However, the demo shown is not entirely unproblematic. One risk is that experienced users will be disturbed if the copilot makes unwanted changes for them. In addition, it cannot be ruled out that the AI makes mistakes during the setting without the users noticing. Such a function is also unlikely to be conducive to media literacy when dealing with operating systems.
Nevertheless, with the introduction of an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) on the latest mobile processors from Intel, software and hardware providers seem to agree that chatbots and AI applications are the future of operating systems and apps.
Read more on the topic: Intel just showed off its first-ever Ultra processors – they’re more than just a new name
What do you all mean? Do you think the concepts shown by Dell are a useful extension of Windows AI functions? Would you like to use the auto-adjusting options? Or are you uncomfortable with the thought of having even less control over your operating system in the future? Feel free to write us your opinion in the comments!
