Intel vice chief: computers can be trusted

Photo: Liis Treimann / Postimees

Last Tuesday, Tallinn was visited by Intel Corporation’s vice president Shmuel Eden, presenting the groups vision of applying technologies copying the human senses.

What are Intel’s plans in the post-PC era? Can it be claimed you are late for the smart market?

We will continue development of desktop and laptop computers and will mainly focus at all-in-one devices. Laptops have become ever thinner, evolving into tablets that can be used both as tablets or laptops. I believe these devices have a future.

We have also developed a brand new series of microprocessors, created with tablets in mind. Also, we are investing into smartphones. Thus, we will be competing in all categories.

Talking about the future: will Intel succeed in dominating the smart device processors market like it has with computer processors?

I do not like the word dominate; however, I believe we will be able to gain considerable market share. As I have said before – 10 per cent would be failure. In some cases, we were late for the market; at the same time I do believe we are able, with our engineering skills and altered strategy, to make it big with both tablet computers, smartphones and next generation portable devices.

Coming back to Intel’s thin, light and powerful laptops, the ultrabooks... Satisfied with sales results?

Yes. To begin with, we tried to fit in the existing microprocessors, but now we launched a special new generation microprocessor series, Haswell, custom made for this category. Creating this, we were in cooperation with all of our major clients – HP, Dell, Sony, Apple, Samsung – and their new Haswell-based devices will be launched soon.

So the ultrabook breakthrough is to be expected in near future?

I believe it will come during Christmas, already. By then, many very interesting devices are in store.

At the beginning of the year, Intel Capital invested in an Estonian startup called Fortumo. Are there any other local companies you are planning to invest in?

As I am mainly involved in managing Intel’s Israeli unit, I am not very well informed on that; however, I believe that Intel Capital is seeking very diverse investment options and I see no reasons why not invest here. Arriving in Estonia I learnt that it was here that Skype was created, so you surely have potential.

Have you, perhaps, heard of a startup company called Realeyes, with Estonian roots – involved with recognition technology development, of the same sort you were presenting to us today?

No, regrettably not. But that does not mean much as there are hundreds of companies in this sector, and one cannot know them all. Perhaps there are people under me, in the company, who know about them.

You were demonstrating ways a human can communicate with a computer, by voice and movements. With the background of today’s hot topic if international snooping scandal: can people trust the computer and the all-seeing camera – or should we rather tape it over, as some experts suggest?

I do not want to become specific, but there is an ever increasing amount of monitoring systems all around, knowing a lot about us – no doubt. This is unavoidable – we all have a telephone, the telephone contains a GPS, thus the movements of people are known. Even an ordinary store has security cameras, so that people would not steal. The problem is not in data collection, rather that privacy should not be violated. I believe governments together with companies must seriously consider how they can offer people hi-tech solutions without the people feeling their privacy breached.

Can people trust big technology companies which possess vast amounts of information on them?

I may only speak for Intel. We have no private information on people and I believe we can be trusted. When it comes to the others, you would have to ask them directly, I cannot answer for them.

What will be the next big step in consumer technology?

That’s what all my competitors would like to know as well (laughs). I believe there to be two new trends, in addition to tablets and smartphones. One is the breakthrough of wearable smart devices – smart watches – and the other is what I am demonstrating here: perceptual computing, wherewith the human-device interaction is totally changed. Like voice communication, which is much more natural and intuitive than the touch-based communication. That will be a change on the scale of the touch screen.

What would you personally desire to see developed in technology, in five years from now?

I would like everything to be possible orally. I do not want to carry anything, all might be linked to my body. I would like to communicate with the computer the way I am now communicating with you. And, most importantly, I want the computer to help me, I do not want to ask the computer questions.

I wish the computer knew my wife’s birthday and that I need to take her some flowers, or else I will face major problems.

I want the computer to tell me that «Mooly, it is time for you to go get the kids from school, as right now there are traffic jams at such and such locations». I want the computer to know me, to be able to predict my behaviour and make my life much easier.

Can computers be trusted with this?

Sure. They will never replace humans, but there already are many things they are much better at.

A computer has a better memory, and one may keep adding that as the need arises. You know what is happening here and now; the computer may know what is happening in five different locations at the same time.

A computer may know where your wife and children are, letting you know your wife will be late to meet you. A computer is no replacement for humans, rather an addition to live a more effective and better life, to have more free time to spend with the family and to enjoy life.

Shmuel «Mooly» Eden

•  Intel’s senior vice president, president of Intel Israel. Responsible for all activities and strategy of Intel Israel.

•  Joined Intel in 1982. Since then, he has worked at various technical and management positions, including overseeing development of Intel Centrino processors technology and Intel Pentium M processors.

•  Mr Eden has Bachelor’s degree in electric engineering (1973) from the Israeli Technion technical university, as well as Master’s degree from Jerusalem university in business management.

•  In 2012, Mooly Eden made the Fortune magazine’s global technology visionaries top ten.