World’s most powerful AI tasked with creating 3D map of the universe

One of the most powerful supercomputers in the world has been brought online in the US and will be asked to apply its considerable artificial intelligence to some of the most challenging projects out there, from astrophysics and climate, to clean energy technologies.

The Perlmutter system, a Hewlett-Packard-built Cray EX supercomputer, was unveiled at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) in California, part of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and is “the fastest on the planet”, according to Nvidia, the chip manufacturer supplying much of its graphics hardware.

“The Perlmutter supercomputer will help inspire the next generation of scientists and innovators, allowing the US and Department of Energy to remain a leader in using scientific computation to answer our greatest questions,” said David Turk, the US Department of Energy’s deputy secretary, at its launch.