AMD announced the Ryzen 8040 series of laptop processors at the company’s AI-themed event, reframing what has been a conversation about CPU speed, power, and battery life into one that is reprioritizing AI. In January, AMD launched the Ryzen 7000 family, of which the Ryzen 7040 included the first use of what AMD then called its XDNA architecture, powering Ryzen AI. (When rival Intel disclosed its Meteor Lake processor this past summer, Intel began referring to the AI accelerator as an NPU, and the name stuck.) Over fifty laptop models already ship with Ryzen AI, executives said. Now, it’s on t…