Microsoft gives Task Manager another task: Watching AI workloads

Once upon a time, Windows Task Manager was a stone-cold killer. Optimized to within an inch of its life, it struck fear into errant processes. These days, Microsoft also wants it monitoring AI workloads. Task Manager has come a long way from the application Dave Plummer developed in the 1990s, inspired by what he called a "very Unixy impulse." This week, Microsoft highlighted its latest addition: deeper visibility into AI workloads. "Previously, the Processes tab didn't show per-process activity for the neural processing unit (NPU) or graphics processing unit (GPU) neural engine," Microsoft explained. Now it does, at least on supported newer devices. The Processes tab can show NPU use alongside CPU and GPU activity, while the Performance tab displays overall utilization. It is handy, although Task Manager appears to be spending ever more time monitoring tasks rather than managing them. That said, knowing which processes are using which hardware can help diagnose performance and power consumption problems, particularly on a battery-powered laptop. Microsoft was keen to point out the metrics that can be monitored. "As AI workloads become more common on Windows devices, visibility into NPU and GPU neural engine utilization can help you make better-informed decisions," the company said. "With the latest Task Manager improvements, you can monitor AI processing activity alongside CPU, memory, storage, and networking data from a familiar interface." Whether users want that degree of telemetry in Task Manager is another question. Finding a memory leak or killing a CPU hog fits its traditional remit; extended system analysis might be better left to Performance Monitor. Notepad was once a lightweight application focused on doing one thing well. It has since accumulated tweaks and enhancements before enduring the indignity of AI-powered text editing services. The same fate could await Task Manager. The additional metrics will undoubtedly be useful to developers. Whether they represent helpful visibility or another step toward feature bloat depends on whether Microsoft can add them without compromising the speed and simplicity that made Task Manager indispensable. (R)