Nvidia CEO Says AI Is Now Essential for Graphics

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has stated that artificial intelligence has become indispensable to modern computer graphics, signaling a major shift in the way visual technologies are built. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference on September 11, Huang explained that AI is now integrated into the foundation of graphics computing.

“We can’t do computer graphics without artificial intelligence anymore,” Huang said (via Seeking Alpha ), noting that Nvidia uses AI to calculate a small portion of the image and infer the rest. “We calculate one pixel, we infer the other 32… it looks photorealistic, and the image quality is incredible, the performance is incredible.”

AI has been criticized for its energy consumption, but Huang argued that using it for graphics can reduce energy consumption. “Computing one pixel takes a lot of energy … deriving the other 32 takes very little energy, and you can do it incredibly fast.” Huang added that there are “productivity gains” from using these methods to generate code, and the capacity for this is “just incredible.”

In this regard, Huang also emphasized the role of AI in software development, particularly in code generation. “There is not a single software engineer in our company who does not use code generators,” he said, predicting that AI-driven “digital engineers” would become the standard across industries.

Nvidia’s AI-based DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) improves performance by generating additional frames. Sony uses similar AI techniques with its PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling.

Huang closed by outlining Nvidia’s broader AI applications, including autonomous vehicles, robotics and digital biology. AI, he said, is transforming areas such as drug discovery with computer-aided tools.

Nvidia’s AI innovations are part of a growing and already-existing trend. A report from Unity found that 62% of game development studios are now using AI, primarily in animation.