The Best Implementations Of AI We Saw At MWC 2024

At MWC 2024, and CES before it, AI was obviously a hot topic. Instead of new devices themselves being the center of attention, crowds instead flocked towards what are essentially programs that work on those devices. If we're looking for a theme within a theme, then it was certainly on-device AI. 

Instead of these vast programs you'll need a PC and an internet connection to access, all of that power is likely to be contained in your pocket. It may also make the device itself more powerful, and far easier to use. This is backed up by dedicated AI chips, which we saw in a consumer laptop for the first time during our visit to Barcelona. There's also an entirely new kind of AI-reliant device that could wind up being something you use every day.

While programs like AI image generators may be a bit of a novelty for some people, there were advancements on display at MWC 2024 that should put that entertainment value through the roof. Aside from the amusement aspect, there are parts of said image generators that should give hope to those using them for serious purposes. 

Then there's the stuff that will make every day life easier: Think real-time conversation translation, the ability to work out what an object is from a simple photo, and the exact app you need popping up automatically right when you need it. Here are five of the best uses of AI we witnessed at MWC 2024.

On-device AI is a common theme these days as people look to reduce costs and increase reliability. Yes, you don't have to constantly feed a locally-based AI tokens, and it works just fine without internet, but there are some trade-offs. It's going to be noticeably less potent than the likes of ChatGPT, Bard, and whatever silly name Musk attached to its AI efforts on X (formerly Twitter). 

Given the resources large companies have at their disposal, this gulf in quality is unlikely to disappear any time soon. However, developments are being made that may help bridge the gap. Dell has partnered with Intel to develop a processing chip dedicated entirely to AI-based tasks. The chip — or "Neural Processing Unit" (NPU) — is present in the three Dell Latitude Laptops that were also unveiled at MWC, and it has some useful under-the-radar applications in addition to the obvious ones.

As far as the obvious applications go, boot up something like Stable Diffusion and the chip will provide some extra grunt — hopefully speeding up AI tasks while reducing strain on the CPU and GPU in the process. As for the less obvious applications, the chip can work with AI programs running behind the scenes to optimize how your PC runs. So if a program isn't doing anything useful but is taking up resources, an AI optimizer can tone it down or disable it. 

It may also be able to provide extra resources to more demanding programs where needed — allowing you to get the most out of your hardware. We've already seen the impact AI has had on things like GPUs; dedicated AI chips may be a way to sustain the rapid technological progress we've seen over the last few decades and allay fears about Moore's Law no longer applying.

Aside from the magic ring no one was allowed to handle, Samsung's main offering at MWC revolved around Galaxy AI — a suite of powerful AI tools available on its current flagship devices. We got hands on with Galaxy AI, and while many of its features aren't truly unique, they are very well executed. 

Photos can be edited and tweaked on the fly with minimal input. A photo is enough to search the web for that pair of shoes or sunglasses you want. Phone calls can also be translated in real time if both participants happen to speak different languages. All in all, it really makes it clear how much of an impact AI is going to have on our smartphones going forward.

This may sound like a common theme by this point, but there were some problems with Samsung's AI offering. As a journalist, allegedly, I naturally gravitated towards the transcription function and asked if it was possible for the app to handle two different languages while providing a single transcription in English. So, if I was conversing with the booth attendant in English, while said attendant was speaking Spanish, would it all be written down in the language I need?

No, not without some effort. You have to record the conversation and have the AI transcribe it in English, before having the AI complete a second transcription in Spanish, and then spend time copy-pasting the two together. The actual translations themselves weren't perfect either. 

This is obviously an area where Samsung will undoubtedly improve, and they have all the tools needed to streamline things on this app and elsewhere. But it's also a reminder that we are in the early days of on-device AI and things still have a long way to go.