UAlbany unveils AI supercomputer

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)---Thursday’s unveiling of a new AI supercomputer at UAlbany is just one aspect of the state’s plan to become a leader in artificial intelligence. Governor Kathy Hochul explained the significance of this high-tech machine.

"It has 192 graphic processing units. Maybe you’ll appreciate this— three miles of fiber optic cabling and that’s why we can do vastly complex calculations, and the research will just be extraordinary."

The technology can be used as a tool help make advancements areas such as the medical field and weather forecasting. The governor highlighted some of the potential uses, making reference to the latest hurricane that hit Florida.

"Imagine if that modeling was accurate and people have the early warning systems that they can evacuate a lot earlier, board up the buildings get the gas in the tank— all those issues that are real today could be solved with what we are doing here," said Hochul.

UAlbany isn’t the only school in New York that will be focusing on this type of technology. In the newly passed state budget, $275 million dollars was allocated to create an AI computing center at the University of Buffalo. The budget also included the Empire AI Consortium— a partnership of 7 educational institutions within the state.

"When we have resources like of course the supercomputer, the idea is that we’re able to build our workforce and our talent pipelines and also attract new jobs and companies to New York," said Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Chair of Internet and Technology Committee.