SECAI Core · phase 1 of 15
Central processing unit
Principal microprocessor in a PC or mobile device responsible for running firmware, operating system, and applications software.
The Explain card
- Plain English
- The central processing unit (CPU) is the main processor in a computer or phone. It runs the firmware, the operating system and the applications.
- Example
- A small language model is quantised so it can run inference on a laptop's CPU alone, with no graphics card, letting an offline security tool classify logs without sending them to the cloud.
- Why it matters
- The CPU is the root of trust for everything above it. Speculative execution flaws and side channels can leak model weights or secrets, and CPU-bound inference shapes where AI can safely run.
- Hook
- The CPU is the engine; GPUs are the turbocharger for heavy model maths.
Where it sits in the deck
Phase 1: What AI Is: Core Concepts and Paradigms
You cannot secure, govern, or attack something you cannot define — establish what AI actually is before any other concept can land.
