- UK AI Research
Resource dubbed Isambard-AI will be one of Europe’s most
powerful supercomputers
- new facility will serve as national resource for researchers
and industry experts spearheading AI innovation and scientific
discovery
- plans for the supercomputer backed by £900 million investment
announced in March to transform UK’s computing capacity
A new supercomputer set to be one the most powerful in Europe is
to be built in Bristol, in a move to drive pioneering
AI research and
innovation in the UK.
The UK government has confirmed the University of Bristol will
host the new AI
Research Resource (AIRR), which will serve as a
national facility to help researchers maximise the potential of
AI and support
critical work into the potential and safe use of the technology.
The world-class AIRR
cluster will vastly increase the UK’s compute capacity –
essential to achieving the UK’s AI ambitions and securing its
place as a world-leader in harnessing the rapidly developing
technology. The cluster, which will be made up of thousands of
state-of-the-art graphics processing units, or GPUs, will be able to train the
large language models that are at the forefront of AI research and development
today.
Compute refers to the systems assembled at scale to process
complicated tasks, and is integral not just to the science and
technology ecosystem but to the running of modern economies. This
new national facility will help to underpin the UK’s
next-generation compute infrastructure, in line with the
recommendations of the independent Future of Compute Review.
The new AIRR will be
dubbed Isambard-AI
after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer whose groundbreaking
creations – including Bristol’s famous Suspension Bridge –
transformed Britain and revolutionised transport and
construction.
Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary said:
We are backing the future of British innovation, investing in a
world-leading AI
Research Resource in Bristol that will catalyse scientific
discovery and keep the UK at the forefront of AI development.
The Isambard-AI
cluster will be one of the most powerful supercomputers in
Europe, and will help industry experts and researchers harness
the game-changing potential of AI, including through the
mission-critical work of our Frontier AI Taskforce.
Plans for the AIRR were
announced in March, backed by a £900 million investment to
transform the UK’s computing capacity and establish a dedicated
AI Research
Resource.
Bristol already plays host to cutting-edge computing technology,
with the Isambard 3 supercomputer due to be installed later this
year to support research in AI and machine learning, while
the University of Bristol is home to the UKRI Centre for Doctoral
Training in Interactive Artificial intelligence. Both Isambard 3
and Isambard-AI will
be based at the National Composites Centre, in collaboration with
the GW4 group of universities –
an alliance made up of the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff
and Exeter.
Simon McIntosh-Smith, Professor of High Performance Computing at
the University of Bristol and project lead, said:
We’re delighted to be chosen as the site to host the UK’s first
ever Artificial Intelligence Research Resource.
Isambard-AI will be
one of the world’s first, large-scale, open AIsupercomputers, and builds on
our expertise designing and operating cutting-edge computational
facilities, such as the incoming Isambard 3.
Professor Phil Taylor, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and
Enterprise at the University of Bristol, said:
AI is expected to be
as important as the steam age, with ramifications across almost
every area of academia and industry. Bristol’s proud to be at the
forefront of this revolution.
To be selected to host a new national AI supercomputer speaks to the
University’s cutting-edge research into AI and machine learning.
We have unique expertise in rapidly building and deploying
large-scale research computing infrastructure and we’re excited
to play an integral part in establishing the UK as an
international hub for AI.
The UK will host the world’s first AI Safety Summit on 1 and 2
November, bringing together leading countries, technology
organisations, academic and civil society to discuss the risks
created or exacerbated by the most powerful AI systems, and how to address
and mitigate them. The Summit will also look at how the benefits
of safe AI can be
unlocked to improve lives.
