AI PCs will shape the future of work – but not everyone will get one

I spoke with IDC’s Ryan Reith, Group Vice President, WW Device Trackers, at IDC’s 60th annual Directions conference.  Ryan and his IDC colleagues advise senior IT leaders around technology strategy – in his case focusing on end user devices.

From the benefit of that experience Ryan said that although there is no critical use case for AI PCs today, organizations should be thinking about the future of their workforce and the devices they will need. He said that AI PCs will bring increased security and efficiency with compute happening at the edge. But he said that not everyone will need an AI PC, and education of IT, management and employees will be key.  

You can watch our conversation here, or via the YouTube player below. 

AI PCs: ‘Hurry up and wait’

I asked Ryan what is the state of play with AI, end user devices, and the IT leaders he is working with? What’s top of mind for them? 

Ryan told me that companies see on-device AI as a productivity and security booster via the PC. He said that in 2024 semiconductor vendors released chips that would enable on-device AI to leverage NPUs primarily for power and latency advantages.   

PC manufacturers have taken these new chips, and all major brands launched new AI-ready products in 2024.  However, so far, the uptake has been relatively slow.  

When I asked why that is, Ryan opined that primarily it is because these new PCs come with a premium price point, and budgets are tight.  Perhaps more importantly, many IT leaders say the lack of clear, cost-justifying AI solutions are creating a ‘hurry up and wait’ scenario for widespread adoption of AI PCs. 

Ryan said that he doesn’t believe that IT buyers need to be fully committed to AI PCs at this stage. There are many more pressing priorities, and realistically, the use cases aren’t fully developed yet, though they are emerging. In his view it is better to wait until those use cases are more defined, as the solutions and focus will likely integrate with the existing software you’re already using, enhanced by AI implementations. (See also: How to win at AI: think like a systems designer, not a tech shopper.)

On-device AI: security and efficiency at the edge

Ryan and I discussed using AI to drive efficiency within organizations, and the way this is going to have a major impact on the workplace of the future. I asked him what can organizations and employees look forward to? What will be the impact on end user devices, phones, and laptops? 

Ryan told me that corporations expect productivity cost savings, better security, and innovation from on-device AI. In essence they believe that less dependance on cloud will present a range of benefits with security at the forefront.   

But according to Ryan education on this topic toward IT is still very early days, as are deployments. Partially this is because devices just recently launched, but also IT professionals have their hands full with other aspects of AI that are more pressing than the requirements of deploying AI PCs. Ryan said that when products deploy they will go to select employees or divisions likely with an already more advanced dependance on AI than the average employee.   

So from a future of work perspective, the expectations should be a more personalized experience. This couple with substantial improvements on speed and the ability to more seamlessly work on AI tasks remotely.   

AI-ready organizations: Education is everything

I asked Ryan what do organizations need to be thinking about in terms of the workplace of the future? How do we set up the human workforce for success in an AI-driven world? 

Ryan said that first organizations must understand how roles will change and evolve, and from that make hardware and PC decisions. In his view education will be critical and multifaceted:  

• IT needs to be educated for deploying/managing AI PCs 

• Management will need education on how roles will change and evolve 

• Employees will need education because their jobs will evolve as a result.

See also: How to build an AI-ready organization.