February 2020 Summaries

In March 2020, Rescale's HPC and application team transitioned to working from home and expanded their platform's software offerings with the inclusion of ANSYS 2020 R1, which enhances 3D design and additive manufacturing tools, Gromacs 2020 with density-guided simulations, and Dymola 2020x, featuring a new interface and solver updates. February 2020 was notable for the Big Compute 20 event, but Rescale continued to grow its software catalog with additions like Siemens Simcenter 3D 2020.1, Siemens Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 14.06.013, Future Facilities 6SigmaRoom 14.0.3, ESI Virtual Performance Solution 2019, AVL Fire 2019R2, MSC scFLOW 20, and MSC scSTREAM 20, aligning some releases to their respective years.

Joris Poort, CEO of Rescale, addressed the Big Compute 20 conference, emphasizing the potential of big compute to drive significant advances in applied sciences, such as supersonic jets, personalized medicine, and sustainable energy solutions. He highlighted the disparity between rapid digital innovation and slower progress in physical innovation, attributing this to challenges such as regulation, monetization cycles, and the necessity for specialized hardware. Poort stressed that while human intellect and data are abundant, the real bottleneck lies in computational capabilities, especially for complex, interconnected tasks central to applied sciences. He recounted his experience with the 787 Dreamliner project, illustrating how overcoming computational barriers can lead to substantial innovations. Poort called for a restructuring of the technology stack to better support engineers and scientists, advocating for a software-defined approach to computation that democratizes access and aligns infrastructure with specific scientific and engineering needs. He concluded by urging a collective effort and courage to rethink and develop this ecosystem, enabling breakthroughs in critical areas like aerospace, energy, and healthcare.

The inaugural Big Compute conference, sponsored by major tech companies like AWS, Intel, and Microsoft, featured a conversation between Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Shawn Hansen, COO of Rescale, exploring the paradigm shift from big data to big compute and its implications for artificial intelligence (AI). Altman emphasized the transformative potential of massive compute power in AI development, noting that recent advancements such as OpenAI's success with Dota 2 demonstrate the capability of AI systems to learn through self-play rather than relying on extensive data. He discussed significant milestones achieved by OpenAI, particularly in natural language processing, predicting an imminent surge in AI's ability to understand and generate language. Altman addressed both the opportunities and challenges posed by AI, including the widening gap between those with access to advanced compute resources and those without, and the need for international collaboration to avoid an arms race in AI development. He highlighted the importance of diverse input in AI research to ensure equitable development and acknowledged the risks, such as cybersecurity threats posed by advanced AI. Altman reiterated OpenAI's commitment to making AI safe and beneficial for humanity, advocating for a balanced approach that includes policy and governance solutions alongside technological innovations.