Microsoft's OpenAI Supercomputer has 285,000 CPU Cores, 10,000 GPUs

As reported by Engadget: Last year, Microsoft invested $1 billion in Open AI, a company co-founded by Elon Musk that focuses on the development of human-friendly artificial intelligence. Today at the Build 2020 developer conference, we're seeing the first results of that investment. Microsoft announced that it has developed an Azure-hosted supercomputer built expressly for testing OpenAI's large-scale artificial intelligence models. 

While we've seen many AI implementations focused on single tasks, like recognizing specific objects in images or translating languages, a new wave of research is focused on massive models that can perform multiple tasks at once. As Microsoft notes, that can include moderating game streams or potentially generating code after exploring GitHub. Realistically, these large-scale models can actually make AI a lot more useful for consumers and developers alike. 

The OpenAI supercomputer is powered by 285,000 CPU cores and 10,000 GPUs (each of which are also united by speedy 400 gigabit per second connections). And while Microsoft didn't reveal any specific speed capability, the company says it's the TOP500 list of publicly disclosed supercomputers.

At this point, it's unclear how, exactly, OpenAI will take advantage of such a powerful system. But we can at least expect the results to be interesting. The non-profit is best known for developing an algorithm that could write convincing fake news, as well as proving that even bots learn to cheat while playing hide and go seek.

Maybe OpenAI will take a note from Microsoft and develop something like its Turing models for natural language generation, a large-scale AI implementation that's powering things like real-time caption generation in Teams. It's backed by 17 billion parameters for understanding language -- a particularly impressive number when competing solutions clocked 1 billion parameters last year. Microsoft also announced that it's making the Turing models open source, so developers will be able to use it for their own language processing needs soon.

Could Plasma Thrusters Really Replace Jet Engines?

A new plasma thruster could scale up to compete with traditional jet engines.    

As reported by Popular Mechanics: Chinese scientists suggest they’re bringing space plasma thrusters down to Earth, with a new kind that performs as well in the atmosphere as others do in the vacuum of space.

Using just air and electricity, researchers from the Institute of Technical Sciences at Wuhan University say they’ve overcome longtime atmospheric issues like air friction and made a plasma thruster that can compete on the ground.

In a new paper in American Institute of Physics Advances, the scientists describe how they built and tested their plasma thruster.

“We demonstrated that, given the same power consumption, its propulsion pressure is comparable to that of conventional airplane jet engines using fossil fuels,” they say, which is an extraordinary claim.

The plasma thrusters used in space are specially suited to the zero-G and very thin or nonexistent air. “Even though such a plasma engine has a very small propulsion force, after months and years of constant acceleration, the spacecraft can ultimately reach a high speed,” the researchers explain. So in the absence of friction in space, a tiny amount of power can increase in a linear way without limits, like a snowball rolling downhill that can eventually crush a house.

The plasma thruster design.

Bringing plasma thrust into the atmosphere means contending with strict design limitations. The researchers cite an MIT development of an interim “Tesla type” plasma thruster that’s more powerful than ones for space, but not quite enough for typical aircraft. Instead, these researchers have supercharged the thrust using high temperatures and the application of powerful microwaves.

The homemade heat-resistant device used to measure propulsion pressure in the experiment. The device has a small hole at the top for inserting smaller steel beads in order to adjust the threshold weight, at which the ball starts to rattle due to the effect of the plasma jet.

“In this report, we consider a microwave air plasma jet thruster using high-temperature and high-pressure plasma generated by a 2.45 GHz microwave ionization chamber for injected pressurized air,” the researchers say. A microwave oscillator called a gravitron sends microwaves down a tube that terminates with an igniter that heats the plasma. The tube intensifies the microwaves and the resulting plasma is held in a cohesive shape by the flow of fresh air.

The small laboratory model scales up, the scientists say, to the equivalent of a commercial jet engine—enough to theoretically compete with the fossil fuel technologies we use today. From the study:

“[U]sing a high-power microwave source or an array of multiple microwave sources in parallel operation, with materials resistant to high temperature and pressure, it is possible to construct a high-performance microwave air plasma jet thruster in the future to avoid carbon emissions and global warming that arise due to fossil fuel combustion.”

All this sounds amazing, right? So what’s the catch?

Well, the super hot plasma is so hot that it might melt anything that could contain it. In order to scale up a small laboratory model into a full-size electric plasma thruster, future researchers will need to run tests on materials and construction as well as the best ways to combine everything into the most powerful thrusters. To even test the thrust, the scientists had to make a new heat-resistant measuring setup using quartz and steel.

So while this may be a milestone step, the realization of its white-hot potential is likely a decade or more away.

Machine Learning Could Check if you're Social Distancing Properly at Work

As reported by Technology Review: Andrew Ng’s startup Landing AI has created a new workplace monitoring tool that issues an alert when anyone is less than the desired distance from a colleague.

Six feet apart: On Thursday, the startup released a blog post with a new demo video showing off a new social distancing detector. On the left is a feed of people walking around on the street. On the right, a bird’s-eye diagram represents each one as a dot and turns them bright red when they move too close to someone else. The company says the tool is meant to be used in work settings like factory floors and was developed in response to the request of its customers (which include Foxconn). It also says the tool can easily be integrated into existing security camera systems, but that it is still exploring how to notify people when they break social distancing. One possible method is an alarm that sounds when workers pass too close to one another. A report could also be generated overnight to help managers rearrange the workspace, the company says.

Under the hood: The detector must first be calibrated to map any security footage against the real-world dimensions. A trained neural network then picks out the people in the video, and another algorithm computes the distances between them.

Workplace surveillance: The concept is not new. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Amazon is also using similar software to monitor the distances between their warehouse staff. The tool also joins a growing suite of technologies that companies are increasingly using to surveil their workers. There are now myriad cheap off-the-shelf AI systems that firms can buy to watch every employee in a store, or listen to every customer service representative on a call. Like Landing AI’s detector, these systems flag up warnings in real time when behaviors deviate from a certain standard. The coronavirus pandemic has only accelerated this trend.

Dicey territory: In its blog post, Landing AI emphasizes that the tool is meant to keep “employees and communities safe,” and should be used “with transparency and only with informed consent.” But the same technology can also be abused or used to normalize more harmful surveillance measures. When examining the growing use of workplace surveillance in its annual report last December, the AI Now research institute also pointed out that in most cases, workers have little power to contest such technologies. “The use of these systems,” it wrote, “pools power and control in the hands of employers and harms mainly low-wage workers (who are disproportionately people of color).” Put another way, it makes an existing power imbalance even worse.

First Version of Apple and Google's Contact Tracing API Should be Available to Developers Next Week

As reported by TechCrunch: The first version of Apple  and Google’s  jointly developed, cross-platform contact tracing API should be available to developers as of next week, according to a conversation between Apple CEO Tim Cook and European Commissioner for internal market Thierry Breton. Breton shared a photo from his office which shows him having a video conversation with Cook, and told Les Echos that the Apple chief executive told him April 28 would be the day the contact tracing API will be available to software developers building apps that employ it on behalf of public health agencies.

Apple and Google announced they were working on the contact tracing system, which works across iOS and Android mobile device, on April 10, and detailed how the opt-in network would use randomized IDs not tied to a user’s actual identify information to communicate potential contacts with individuals with a confirmed positive COVID-19 diagnosis. It’s a decentralized system that never collects any geographic data in order to preserve individual privacy, and Apple and Google chose to collaborate on the project so that any apps built to use it will have the furthest potential reach possible in terms of user base.

The rollout of the contact tracing system is happening in two parts: First, the API is being made available to developers — that’s the part that’s happening next week. This phase was originally set for a mid-May release, but it sounds like the companies have stepped up their timeline (at least on the Apple side) based on this conversation between Breton and Cook. That makes sense, given the urgency of the need for contact tracing in order to better understand how and when to alter or relax social distancing measures.

The second part of the plan is issuing a system update to build in contact tracing at the OS level. Opt-in would be managed on the device, and both Android  and iOS smartphones with this toggle enabled would automatically be able to participate in local contact tracing efforts — whether or not they had any specific health agency apps installed. Apple and Google clarified in a follow-up Q&A session about the system that users would still be prompted to download and install a public health app from their local authority should their phone notify them of a possible contact, so that they could get additional info about next steps from a trusted source.

Note that the second phase isn’t expected until sometime later this year, but the early arrival of the first version of the API for developers is a promising sign that suggests both companies are focusing considerable effort and resources on getting this to market.

There are myriad contact tracing systems either in development or already being implemented, but a common technological backbone that makes it possible for them to cross-communicate, and that opens up broad participation across the most popular mobile devices currently in use, has the greatest chance of actually being effective.

Elon Musk is 'Scouting' new US locations for Cybertruck, Model Y Production

In this Nov. 21, 2019 file photo, Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduces the Cybertruck at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, Calif.

As reported by Engadget: So what's next after making a million Teslas? According to Elon Musk, a Cybertruck gigafactory that could be placed in "central USA," and Model Y production "for East Coast too." These tweets came just hours after the exec polled followers on whether or not the Berlin factory Tesla is building should include a "mega rave cave" so we'll see what, if any, of these things come true.

Elon Musk

✔@elonmusk

 · 13h

Scouting locations for Cybertruck Gigafactory. Will be central USA.

Elon Musk

✔@elonmusk

Model Y production for east coast too

18.4K

6:14 PM - Mar 10, 2020

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A tweet in February polled people on the question of building a factory in Texas, so it's hard to tell what to take seriously, although the possibility of Musk going on an Amazon HQ2-like quest collecting bids to put down roots seems like something that could happen.

The Model Y already landed as Tesla's milestone vehicle yesterday and shipments are scheduled to begin any day now. Meanwhile, the electric truck is a bit further off -- you can get Mattel's version sooner if you're in a hurry -- with production scheduled to start in late 2021. We'll see if that's long enough to keep Tesla's options opens on where to build its polarizing, angular pickup.

Within the past 24 hours, Elon Musk tweeted a picture of Tesla's millionth car -- a red Model Y that, according to our friends at Autoblog, appears to have the Performance Upgrade packages -- as well as speculating on locations for new factories.

Nikola Motors Unveils Hybrid Fuel-Cell Concept Truck with 600-Mile Range

A Toyota Tacoma for the fuel-cell crowd.

As reported by Engadget: Minus a patent suit, it's been a while since we've heard from Nikola, the other automaker named after the inventor of alternating current. On Monday, however, the company unveiled a concept for a new electric pickup truck called the Badger.

Nikola plans to offer the Badger as both a purely battery-electric vehicle and as an electric/fuel-cell hybrid. The company claims the hybrid powertrain model will feature a maximum range of approximately 600 miles, while the battery model will be limited to 300 miles. It also claims the pickup will be able to tow up to 8,000 pounds and accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in approximately 2.9 seconds. Those capabilities, if Nikola can deliver on them, would make the Badger mostly comparable to Tesla's Cybertruck.

However, one major issue is the availability of hydrogen stations. Compared to battery charging stations, there aren't many places in the US where you can refill a fuel-cell vehicle. Even in a state like California, they're few and far between outside of major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. To solve the problem, Nikola says it plans to build 700 hydrogen filling stations. The company claims it has the first locations secured, but it won't announce them until later this quarter.

As for the truck, the company says it will fully detail the Badger at its upcoming Nikola World 2020 event in September, at which point it will start accepting limited reservations as well. The Badger, if it turns out to be more than a concept, will enter a field that is quickly becoming crowded. Beyond obvious competitors like the Cybertruck, there are vehicles like the upcoming Hummer, Rivian R1T and eventual electric Ford F-150 for Nikola to worry about.

Bill Gates is Reportedly the First to Buy a Hydrogen-Powered 'Superyacht'

The Aqua offers luxury sea travel without the usual environmental guilt.

As reported by Engadget: Bill Gates' investments in eco-friendly tech might include one of the more conspicuous symbols of his wealth. The Telegraph claims former Microsoft chief has tasked Feadship with building a vessel inspired by Sinot's Aqua, the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-based "superyacht." The roughly $644 million, 370-foot boat would have all the trappings of wealth, including five decks, space for 14 guests and 31 crew members and even a gym, but it would run on two 1MW motors fuelled by supercooled hydrogen tanks.

Sinot would even use gel-based fire bowls to keep passengers warm outside instead of burning coal or wood. It wouldn't be a fast mover with a 17-knot top speed (19.6MPH), but its 3,750-mile range should be enough for cross-ocean travel.

The vessel wouldn't be completely eco-friendly, though. As dockside hydrogen filling stations are more than a little rare, the Aqua would have a diesel engine backup to help it reach port.

The Gates Foundation and Gates Ventures both declined to comment to The Telegraph.

Aqua isn't expected to reach the sea until 2024, according to the report. It's easy to bring up criticism of the claimed purchase. Couldn't the money for this yacht go toward funding electric and hydrogen vehicle projects that could have more of an impact than one boat meant for pleasure cruises? Like Gates' investment in the sunlight electricity startup Heliogen, though, this could be as much about symbolic support for zero-emissions technology as anything else -- in this case, proof that powered boats don't have to make a huge dent in the environment.

Note: Sinot has updated its home page to say that reports of selling Aqua to Gates are "incorrect," and that there are no business links between the company and Gates. We've updated our piece accordingly, to treat this as rumor rather than fact.