The future of computer: In-depth analysis from tech leaders 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — From Charles Babbage’s analytical engine to IBM’s Personal Computer (PC) with a diskette, the computer has evolved so much through the years, making one wonder – what would be the computer of the future look like?

Will it be hologram like in “Star Trek”? Or telepathic with eye movements as cursor?

International technology brand Acer unveiled what they dubbed as “the future of PC” at panel discussions this week in Dubai and in the emirate’s hosting of COP28, the world’s largest gathering of environmental actionists opened by King Charles III of England.

Discussing the future of computer is important as currently, there are about 300 million computer users all over the world, according to Elizabeth Sturcken, Managing Director of non-profit organization tackling climate change, Environmental Defense Fund.

Data company Statista estimated that by 2021, around 45% of the world’s population own a computer.

Every person’s shift to the PC is already a considerable amount of carbon footprint involved, so the future of the PC has to be taken seriously, reminded Gokul V Subramaniam, Intel India President and Vice President CCG for Sustainability Strategy.

As a company that dispatches millions of computers into the market yearly, it is important for the Taiwan-based Acer to be conscious of sending its message of sustainability to every person – one computer at a time, said Emmanuel Fromont, the company’s Corporate Vice President and President for EMEA and Operation.

“We distribute of laptops every year. One by one, these add up and contribute. The user is also in control with himself in making sure he does the less impact on the planet,” enthused Acer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jason Chen in his keynote speech.

For the company, two words best describe the future computer: conscious and modular.

Conscious

“One of the biggest challenges that humanity faces is climate change,” Chen noted.

“People could innovate and as they innovate, their innovation could also impact the planet, the climate.”

As a company, Chen said they believe they have to play their part in sustainability actions, and since PC is their core, they started their climate action initiatives with the PC.

For Acer, the PC of the future should be made of 100% recycled materials, a goal that the company is trying to set since recycled materials make the PC fragile. According to Chen, their engineers even cried when they were just developing PCs made of 30% recycled materials.

Acer has set a goal to use 20 to 30% post-consumer recycled plastic in its computer and monitors by 2025, for which 17% use was achieved in 2022. They are targeting to make 20 to 30% of all their computers to be made of recycled materials by 2025.

Chen proudly shared that their company contributes to recycling a lot of PC and non-PC electronics. Around 20 to 25% of being recycled are Acer products, while 75% are non-Acer products.

“We have a thousand employees in Europe. That’s more than half of our (total number of) employees (in Europe),” he said of their employees dedicated to recycling parts not only for Acer but also for 40 other companies who have followed the brand’s eco warrior path.

“We promise that what can’t be reused will be dismantled and recycled as much as possible,” he added, noting that they audit how much has been recycled.

The brand shared its commitment to carbon neutrality for its Aspire Vero laptop line, starting from the new Aspire Vero 16 (AV16-51P). Following international standards for carbon footprint calculation and carbon neutrality, actions are taken at each stage of the device lifecycle to minimize its carbon footprint, and then, high-quality carbon credits will be applied to attain carbon neutrality.

Since the inception of the series, Aspire Vero laptops have been eco-consciously designed with the goal of minimizing their carbon footprint throughout their lifecycle. From manufacturing to packaging to end-of-life recycling, each process has been examined and continuously fine-tuned to help contribute toward less emissions. The latest iteration of the product, the Aspire Vero 16 (AV16-51P) has seen efforts across:

• Color, material and finish: The chassis is made from a blend of more than 60% recycled plastic (vs. 30% in the first generation), and its surface contains no volatile organic compounds, paint, or additives. The touchpad uses ocean-bound plastic 5 on the surface.
• Components: Features the latest Intel Core Ultra processors which are more power efficient than previous generations. Intel AI Boost, the new integrated neural processing unit (NPU) delivers new AI-powered capabilities with extreme power efficiency.
• Packaging: Steps are taken to reduce the carbon footprint by recycling the scrap material generated during production and using 100% recyclable packaging. Thoughtful designs allow the 100% recycled FSC-certified paper box to be easily repurposed.
• Shipping: Acer has partnered with logistics providers to reduce standard sea containers’ emissions thanks to biofuel on various routes.
• Usage: AcerSense battery management software focuses on energy efficiency with four performance modes: Eco+, Eco, Balanced and Performance.

Vero, said Chen, is their first recycled-based computer launched two years ago. He said the company did not apply patents for Vero because they want other companies, even their competitors, to follow suit in making PCs made of recycled materials.

“If I were just after business, I would have applied patents for Vero,” he said. “But our sustainability efforts are not just for marketing. We see our competitors who are also into sustainability as partners because we all want the same thing.”

If it is only possible today, Acer wants all of its products to be made of 100% recycled materials or at least be like Vero, but Chen admitted that post-consumer recycled plastic and ocean dump sourced from the US are very expensive. As such, they are now looking at other sources of materials to recycle, including Asia.

Jerry Kao, Acer Chief Operating Officer, hopes that Vero and other eco-friendly computers would no longer be just a niche. Many retailers, according to him, are looking for affordability and sustainability, so government should initiate by using laptops or PCs that espouse these.

Sustainability might be costly, he said, but he is happy because it is off-set with the rising acceptance for recycled computers.

“The mindset of the consumer has to change,” enthused Gokul V Subramaniam, Intel India President, Vice President CCG for Sustainability Strategy.

“The users, just like how they transition from carrying plastic bottles while they’re traveling to steel cases, that mindset has to start happening even in the computer.”

According to Chen, a PC made of recycled materials would make consumers feel they made a smart decision to buy their PC – but the company aims to not stop at making the customer feel good. The PC made of recycled materials must also perform well or as expected, if not exceed expectations.

As answer to this, the company collaborated with Intel and Microsoft to give the PCs optimized software with different energy-saving modes and not a one-size-fits all energy mode. For example, since gaming and Excel spreadsheets require maximum power, the PCs would just power up for these, but it also has lower energy-emitting modes for using smaller apps like e-mail.

An Artificial Intelligence-powered PC will consume more electricity and semi-conductor power, and this, said Chen, is a challenge because of thermal consumption – the more powerful a PC is, the hotter it gets, so they are now working on a thermal technology and filed around 300 patents for thermal technology system to reduce the thermal power required.

Chen said that in order for a PC to be truly sustainable, it should meet different levels of sustainability: Recycling is the first and most important level; the second is accessibility; and third is cybersecurity.

“A lot of people do not bring their computers to repairs because of fear of data breach,” affirmed Subramaniam. “Securely erasing the contents is another aspect of being sustainable.”

He suggested for PCs to be developed with an app with meters and metrics that show users the data of their average PC usage to give them an idea on how much carbon footprint they are creating with their PC usage alone.

Kao said Acer studies how much power different applications consume. Before loading a PC with apps, they determine first if these apps are really necessary. As such, he said they developed an all-in-one computer that might look like any ordinary PC, but when the user is not in front of the screen, its screen automatically dims to preserve energy. This is due to an app they developed that monitors if a human being is sitting in front of the screen and not a pet.

Since learning is a big component of their “humanity” as a company, Acer also has come up with laptops such as the Chrome line, which, according to the brand, has been designed to be durable from Day 1. These PCs have self-draining capability that one can spill water on them and they would still work. The notebooks also have curved surfaces that protect the unit from damage if accidentally dropped, as well as antimicrobial properties especially on the screen and keyboard so they remain clean for use. These functions make them a good gadget choice for kids.

Shelly Blackburn of Microsoft Cross Solutions shared that even her son understands that sustainability should be built-in right now in PCs.

She urged companies to talk to future consumers, today’s tech-savvy children, and keep them in mind in developing products.

“Kids nowadays know sustainability is something that just simply must happen,” she said.

Modularity

Kao said that like anyone, he likes lightweight and thin laptops because these are easy to pack and carry. He warned, however, that light and thin laptops do not necessarily mean these are sustainable.

“But how are these assembled? There’s always trade-offs for going thin,” he said of PCs that might be light and thin but has many parts that might not be usable many years down the line.

Hence, for Acer, complete life cycle management is important. If the user returns the PC to them, the brand can reuse, recycle and dismantle the product for reuse, said Chen.

Since the brand cares about how the user keeps their PCs and how to keep the computers running for years, they introduced the concept of “modularity” wherein a PC, like a modular cabinet, can be repaired and replaced by parts. One does not have to replace the entire PC if you only need more storage, for example. You can just buy and replace a part of the PC that could give you what you need – or as Kao said, upgrade the inner working while using the same outside shell.

According to Kao, they make sure that all their PCs are very easy to repair by using the same type of screws for all PCs.

“We teach the next generation to take care of the product,” Chen said of their training program for students, especially those who live in remote islands, to repair their own laptops. The company claimed it works with entire schools, not only students, and also ask teachers and school staff for their needs, since computing is also involved in other school systems such as record-keeping and surveillance.

These repair workshops, said Chen, issue certificates that students could use even for other jobs in other companies.

The Philippines, he said, is one of their brand’s major centers for repair. The company is now working on developing an ecosystem where repairmen can fix multiple laptops remotely and not add to emitting more carbon footprints by going house-to-house.

Subramaniam urged the expansion of more repair services and availability of spare parts to more remote areas since more and more people from remote places are getting PC access.

This, he said, poses an opportunity for the Information Technology (IT) person to remotely manage the system and reduce the carbon footprint from the serviceman traveling to one place to another for repairs.

“It’s not just about the input of PC, it’s also about your services,” he asserted.

According to him, people should “look at the entire life cycle and pay attention to how things work.” To make sure that we are all in the same page, the sustainability aspect should be observed from the chargers to the silicone manufacturers.

“An electronic device should be recycled, repaired or given a second life as something useful,” he advocated.

“If you look at the world today, we’re actually transitioning from personal responsibility to societal responsibility and graduating to a planet responsibility.” — Video by Deni Bernardo

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Editor's note: The tour to COP28 was hosted by Acer. At no stage does the host organization have a say on the stories generated from the coverage, interviews conducted, publication date and story treatment. Content is produced solely by Philstar.com following editorial guidelines.