Artificial intelligence is everywhere right now. And it’s affecting people’s lives in both good and bad ways. Whether by helping them be more productive, taking away their jobs, or by harassing the creative arts. And now, see, AI is coming to your printer, too. Personally, I would have preferred a printer that actually worked when I needed it to, but AI is clearly more important.
HP launches Print AI to bring AI to printers
HP has announced HP Print AI, which the company calls “the industry’s first intelligent print experience [sic] designed to change the way the world prints.” HP Print AI is a set of features designed to “make printing frictionless by eliminating common challenges from printer setup to support.”
The first HP Print AI feature is called Perfect Output, which is designed to ensure that prints look perfect every time. It does this by “re-formatting and reorganizing content to fit perfectly on the page the first time” and making spreadsheets more printable.
So far, all well, if you believe the marketing language. But is HP Print AI using artificial intelligence in any real way?
Legitimately helpful or marketing gimmick
While admirable, Perfect Output doesn’t use AI in any way. Web browsers have been able to remove any unnecessary element for printing purposes for quite some time now, and that too without the use of AI or machine learning.
To be fair to HP, some of the features the company is promising for the future do have AI elements. Customized support when setting up your new printer, in which HP Print AI remembers users’ preferences and tailors its responses accordingly, certainly fits the bill.
And then there’s the promise of “simple conversational prompts.” Which could be legitimately useful if done right.
I would love a printer that works all the time
To be honest, I would love to see printer manufacturers prioritize other, more important things than AI. Make printers that work on command without connectivity and compatibility issues. Printer ink that doesn’t cost too much once you secure you as a customer with cheap hardware. Etc.
But none of these things are prevalent in the tech world nowadays, so all of this can be left behind for AI. Obviously.