The U.S. has formed a partnership with one of the largest tech companies in the country to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence-based supercomputing.
As Reuters reported, the U.S. Department of Energy has inked a $1 billion deal with AMD to build two advanced AI supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The computers, named Lux and Discovery, will be the country's attempt to accelerate scientific breakthroughs in fields such as nuclear fusion, cancer treatment, and national security.
"We've made great progress, but plasmas are unstable, and we need to recreate the center of the sun on Earth," Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Reuters.
"We're going to get just massively faster progress using the computation from these AI systems that I believe will have practical pathways to harness fusion energy in the next two or three years."
In a press release announcing the partnership, AMD noted that AI can streamline and fully optimize processes while also performing tasks faster than humans.
This can prove to be a major boost to overall efficiency and speed up timelines in technological advancements. Ultimately, this can lead to the development of cleaner energy sources and our chance to reduce our reliance on planet-heating dirty fuels.
According to the company, the combined $1 billion investment of private and public funding will enable the DOE to "build a secure, federated and standards-based infrastructure for sovereign U.S. AI and science."
Lux will become the first U.S. AI factory dedicated to science when it is completed in early 2026.
"Discovery and Lux will leverage AMD's high-performance and AI computing technologies to advance the most critical U.S. research priorities in science, energy, and medicine — demonstrating the power of public-private partnership at their best," Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD, said in a statement.
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Should we be pouring money into nuclear fusion technology? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Yes — it'll pay off 👍 While AI certainly has an untapped potential in the development of technology, its high energy consumption for training and operation has raised questions about its ultimate impact on the planet.
With their high energy use and significant water consumption for cooling, AI factories like Lux and Discovery may dramatically increase waste and pollution in surrounding areas, if they rely on polluting fossil fuels and advancements in cooling technologies stall.
As for fusion, it is often referred to as a the "holy grail" of clean energy. A breakthrough at scale could provide the U.S. with virtually limitless energy without the long-lasting radioactive waste produced by nuclear fission.
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