What you should know:
- The future of AI will be hybrid, with the cloud and the edge working together — each playing a vital role.
- The user interface (UI) is now human-centric — your device understands your context, nuance and behaviors to anticipate and take action in real time.
- The agent will become the primary hub of your digital life, and all your personal devices — including an emerging category of intelligent wearables — will work together to create an Ecosystem of You.
Snapdragon Summit is always electrifying, but this year, it’s amplified. Several milestones are coinciding — 40 years of Qualcomm, 18 years of Snapdragon and 10 years of Snapdragon Summit. Here in Maui, we’re experiencing — and celebrating — the industry-leading platforms we have consistently launched over the last decade. But it’s the future of AI, detailed by visionary Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm President and CEO, that closed out Day 1 of Snapdragon Summit with buzz.
You should listen to the whole thing, but I wanted to share six key trends in AI:
- AI is the new UI. In the past, we had to learn how to use the computer or device on its terms, in its language. But in a profound shift, the user interface (UI) is now human-centric. It is where you are, learning how to interact with you. Your device understands you — context, nuance, behaviors as well as images, video, text, audio, location and more — all in real time.
- Smartphone-centric to agent-centric. The agent will become the primary hub of your digital life. Your personal devices will connect and communicate with agents. Intelligent wearables are emerging as personal AI devices rather than a smartphone accessory. Think glasses, earbuds, rings, watches, pendants and pins. All your devices will work together, with the agent in the center, creating an Ecosystem of You. And as Cristiano noted, “This is where horizontal platforms are better than vertical platforms. You get to choose your own watch, ring, earbuds, glasses.”
- Changes in computing architectures. Devices must run models locally — processing data, making decisions and learning. That means computing and software architectures are changing, apps are evolving. All this on-device computing requires the world’s best and most power-efficient processors and advanced connectivity.
- Models becoming hybrid. AI workloads are being designed based on a collection of models working together as one system, allocating tasks efficiently. The small models running on device are the quick thinkers, handling immediate tasks. The large models in the cloud are the deep reasoners, handling complex decisions.
- Edge data is relevant. The edge is where data, including your data, is generated and captured. This edge data is finetuning AI models in the cloud, becoming even smarter and more powerful. Together, they form a dynamic, adaptive network of intelligence. As Cristiano said, “The best kept secret in AI is the edge.”
- Future of perceptive networks. Fully AI native, 6G will be the connection between the cloud and edge devices, enabling context-aware intelligence everywhere. Qualcomm is driving 6G, just as we did with every other connectivity technology transition, and we’ll see pre-commercial devices as early as 2028.
All these trends demonstrate the edge’s essential role to the future of AI — along with the cloud. And we’re leading the charge to create the greatest impact for you all. From sensing to processing to learning — Snapdragon powers intelligence at the edge.
