With Microsoft revealing its first significant keyboard overhaul in thirty years, computer keyboards are making way for an AI chatbot button.
This month, a unique “Copilot key” that unlocks the AI chatbot from the software giant Microsoft will be included with select new desktop PCs running Windows 11.
Microsoft has been pushing to get laptops from third-party manufacturers like Dell to have an AI button. This is an attempt to leverage its tight relationship with ChatGPT developer OpenAI and position Microsoft as a doorway to generative AI applications.
It marks the symbolic start of what is anticipated to be a competitive year as tech companies race to outdo each other in AI applications even as they haven’t yet resolved all the ethical and legal ramifications. Despite the fact that most people now connect to the internet — and many AI applications — by phone rather than computer. Last month, the New York Times filed lawsuits against Microsoft and OpenAI, claiming that programs such as Copilot, which was formerly known as Bing Chat, and ChatGPT violate news items that are protected by copyright.
Since introducing a unique Windows key in the 1990s, Microsoft has made significant changes to PC keyboards, but this revamp will be the largest one to date. Although the design of Microsoft’s four-squared emblem has changed over time, the key has been a standard feature on Windows-oriented keyboards for over thirty years.
The ribbon-like Copilot logo will indicate the location of the newest AI button, which will be next to the space bar. It will swap out the right “CTRL” key on some computers and a menu key on others.
There are other businesses besides Microsoft that use unique keys. The idea was first introduced by Apple in the 1980s with their “Command” key, which featured a looping square pattern and, for a while, the Apple logo. Google incorporated a search button into its Chromebooks and was the first to test using an AI-specific key to activate its voice assistant on the Pixelbook, which is no longer in production.
But because of its licensing deals with independent PC makers like Lenovo, Dell, and HP, Microsoft has a far firmer grip on the larger PC industry. According to market research firm IDC, Windows powers about 82% of all desktop, laptop, and workstation computers. Apple’s internal operating system runs on 9% of these devices, while Google’s runs on little over 6%.
The newest XPS laptops from Dell Technologies were the first to be revealed with a Copilot key on Thursday.
Microsoft has not yet disclosed which other computer manufacturers, aside from its own premium Surface device line, are also adding the Copilot button. It stated that a few of the corporations are anticipated to present their new models at the CES gadget exhibition in Las Vegas the following week.
