HP hosted its HP Imagine 2024 event, which debuted new AI-based technology and devices that will see their launches later in 2024 and into 2025. While there was plenty of overlap in topics between this event and HP’s event back in July 2024, we had some new surprises come forth as well.
Two of them include the announcement of the OmniBook Ultra Flip - an impressive looking and lightweight 2-in-1 AI laptop that’s built for flexibility - and the EliteBook X, which is touted as being the "most powerful" AI PC that features the "best in AI performance," as stated by HP in its presentation.
There’s also HP Gen AI Lab, which is a feature that prevents "hallucinations" in AI data sets. Hallucinations are incorrect or misleading information generated by an AI system, occurring when AI models make mistakes based on insufficient training data, incorrect assumptions, or biased data.
Another major concern is sustainability, or how much power AI consumes whenever it computes a query. This topic wasn't spoken of nearly as much but was touched on during a media meeting with several HP representatives. Essentially, HP believes that because the NPU handles most of the workload in AI use, it decreases the GPU and CPU's power consumption, making the laptops more energy-efficient and sustainable.
It was also mentioned that many of these companies with workstations already have strict power consumption standards in place, mainly because of limits to how much energy a warehouse can use. This of course doesn’t address the very real reality that despite these restrictions, AI is still draining natural resources at an alarming rate.
HP also asserted that by 2025 it should be 100% free from any single-use plastic in its product packaging and that it’s so far used at least one billion tons of reclaimed ocean-bound plastic, reclaimed fishing nets, and used cooking oil to manufacture its products. When questioned, HP stated that its partners also undergo an onboarding process in which they must meet strict requirements to partner with the company.
What’s most fascinating is that AI is, as usual, used interchangeably between tools that are useful in daily life and evolutions, and the more recent generative AI that skyrocketed in popularity and is far more controversial. While I won’t outright accuse any company of ill intentions, and it’s very clear that HP is leading the charge in many of its claims and goals compared to its competitors, the fact that the definition of AI is often so muddled in these presentations is something noteworthy.
However, it does seem that HP is striving toward and has made significant gains in the various points of contention in AI including sustainability, security, data set hallucinations, integrity, and daily life use. Compared to other corporations, there is a real and measured effort to ensure its AI policies and practices are as ethical as possible (within the framework of capitalism) and such efforts have had tangible results.
As I was told by HP, “Our best isn’t good enough” when it comes to making real changes that impact the future of our world. With that said, here’s hoping that HP’s best efforts will be good enough years down the line. Anything short of that could have dire consequences for us all.
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