| Hi, it's Ed and Ian in San Francisco. We tested the first of a new wave of AI-centric laptops powered by chips you'd expect to find in smartphones. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Nvidia's Jensen Huang says more nuclear power is an option to provide the power needed for the expansion of data centers to feed AI
• Google defends its ad sales technology as testimony ends in its antitrust trial
• California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have held artificial intelligence companies accountable for severe harm from their AI models AI PCs are here. Over the summer, every major laptop brand rolled out its entry in what Microsoft Corp. is dubbing Copilot+ PCs, a series of devices pairing hardware geared for artificial intelligence tasks with the best such features in Windows. What these machines actually are and what they should do for their owners seems to still be evolving. Here at Bloomberg Technology, we've taken a look at two that represent the most radical departure for the industry, as they set aside the traditional Intel Corp. or Advanced Micro Devices Inc. chips for technology from Qualcomm Inc., the dominant chipmaker for mobile handsets. Ian used a Microsoft Surface Pro 11 — which can function as both a tablet and a laptop — with a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite and 32GB of RAM. Ed, unsurprisingly, took the premium route with a Dell Technologies Inc. XPS 13, also powered by Qualcomm. The main and best thing that should be said about the new Surface Pro 11 is that it's a PC. That may sound like a low bar, but prior versions of computers built around mobile processors, including earlier generations of souped-up Snapdragon chips, have sometimes failed to cross it. Likewise, the Dell is easy to use because it's largely indistinguishable from the other Windows-based PCs in that company's lineup. The reason to get excited about non-Intel computers has always been the prospective improvements in battery life — while the reason they've never taken off in the past is there's always been a compromise of some kind. Either a crucial piece of software wouldn't run, or you'd run into weird moments where the computer is unresponsive, or the Windows operating system wasn't quite the same. In simple terms, the much-touted charger-free gains clearly came at the cost of sluggish performance. On the Dell at least, a small number of these gremlins may live on. In our testing, applications have frozen or even crashed. You may also find some missing drivers for printers or other peripherals, though Microsoft and Qualcomm are working to eradicate any incompatibilities and that issue should diminish with time. On the whole, the XPS 13 did a great job of just being a PC. There's nothing that would send us back to Intel-based PCs in frustration. The Surface and Dell just worked like they should. That seemingly small victory is a major step for an effort that's been going on for more than a decade. It closes the gap on Apple Inc.'s Mac lineup, which has already made a complete transition to chips based on similar Arm Holdings Plc technology. The biggest claim made around that architecture is power efficiency. The Surface delivers on that promise in sensational style. A full charge over a weekend has kept it going with regular — not constant — use until the following Thursday. If you're looking for something to carry around without the power brick, this could be it. Microsoft's Windows Hello facial recognition unlocks the device instantly making it as easy as a phone to start using. The XPS 13's battery performance was similarly impressive. Ed tried his best to test its limits by using it for Zoom calls, gaming, YouTube video sessions and hours chatting with Copilot on topics like ranking the best local video game stores by reviews and how to revive a scorched lawn. On average, it could also last about three to four days from a full charge. Gaming took a heavier toll. That's enough to get people curious, but what's supposed to be the game changer is the inclusion of AI in the form of Microsoft's Copilot. For now, it works mostly like having ChatGPT and an image generator preloaded on the machine. Microsoft wants to go further as fast as possible, but it's already run into at least one challenge. A new function, more deeply integrated into the operating system, that would be able to remember what you were doing at a certain point in time is currently on hold while being tested further. It's called Recall and stirred a lot of concern about privacy upon its announcement, hence the delay in rolling it out. It's a salient reminder that we shouldn't expect AI development to be all smooth sailing. Whatever your usual PC habit, you'll find yourself making a behavioral change with these AI-enhanced machines. It's certainly a more interactive experience than the usual sending of clicks and commands at an impersonal screen. Copilot is hard to miss, as its icon appears on the toolbar at the bottom of the desktop and as a new button on the keyboard. Ian managed to have a pleasant conversation with it on how he might achieve a better work-life balance, find time to improve his photography and stop mangling sounds with his guitar. Take pictures of the guitar, was the bot's ingenious suggestion. With the Dell laptop, Ed's Copilot interactions ranged from replacing Google for quick queries to compiling schedules or project plans at home and at work. Some of the best uses arose in Microsoft's well-known software platforms, like Word, where Copilot can tidy up shoddy writing or summarize verbose bodies of text. (This newsletter didn't get the benefit of those enhancements). But there are still significant limitations that keep this from being the definitive new way to interact with the PC. There's a major unevenness in capabilities, the tech is super impressive in some cases and profoundly dumb in others. For example, Ed requested Copilot create an image of a "tired reporter who is at his desk writing about what it's like to use an AI PC with a cup of coffee next to him." The system, powered by OpenAI's Dall-E 3, did an admirable job. But when he tried something as simple as asking Copilot to create a folder on his desktop, the system responded with an explanation of how to do it manually. This new range of Windows PCs gives us much to be excited about — and Intel plenty to worry about — with their exceptional endurance and meager downsides. Just don't buy into the headline hype just yet. The AI additions and integrations, much like Qualcomm's laptop chips of yesteryear, will need plenty more time before they become a key selling point.—Ed Ludlow and Ian King The US-China trade war over technology has intensified yet again. China is discouraging local companies from purchasing Nvidia chips that power artificial intelligence. The move is designed to help domestic Chinese AI chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for any potential additional US restrictions. The US indicted three in an Iranian effort to hack Donald Trump's presidential campaign. A court in Brazil says Elon Musk must pay $1.9 million to lift a ban on his social network X in the country. South Korea's semiconductor stockpiles dwindled at the fastest clip since 2009 last month as demand stays strong for high-performance memory chips used in artificial intelligence development. | 
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