A MONSTER supercomputer that could help cure cancer, slash NHS waiting times and even help pensioners stay independent for longer was switched on today.
The £225million machine – named Isambard-AI – is now live in Bristol and is powerful enough to process 80 years’ worth of calculations in a single second.
AlamyTechnology Secretary Peter Kyle[/caption]
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle with The Sun’s political correspondent Martina Bet standing in front of the UK’s most powerful supercomputerAdrian Sherratt – Commissioned by The Sun
It will be used to slash NHS waiting times, fast-track green tech, and power life-saving breakthroughs from dementia care to heart disease.
Standing in front of the artificial intelligence beast, Tech Secretary Peter Kyle told The Sun his mother, who died of lung cancer, could have been saved by Isambard-AI.
He said: “I am in no doubt whatsoever that if my mum had been scanned today, rather than just over a decade ago, she’d still be alive.
“There is no better connection to what this supercomputer AI and technology is doing than keeping a mum and son together for longer.”
He added: “Diseases are going to be cured.”
The computer is already being used to speed up prostate cancer diagnoses, train AI to detect skin cancer more fairly across all skin tones, and analyse early memory loss in dementia patients by processing personal camera footage in minutes – something that once took weeks.
Scientists are also modelling how proteins behave in the body, which could unlock new treatments for cancer and inherited heart conditions.
Farmers are getting help too – with AI trained on 24/7 cow surveillance footage to spot illness early, limit infections and even help cut methane emissions.
Unlike secretive private data labs, Isambard is publicly run – and ministers will choose who gets to use it.
Mr Kyle said: “My job is to make sure that my department makes wise choices. I won’t be sitting there picking and choosing the applications myself, but I am creating the circumstances where the best choices can be made.”
The launch comes as the Government unveils its Compute Roadmap, a major strategy to boost the UK’s processing power twenty-fold by 2030 – aiming to turn Britain into an “AI maker, not a taker”.
A second public supercomputer – called Dawn – is already operating in Cambridge, and a third is due to open in Edinburgh later this year, where the UK’s first National Supercomputing Centre will be based.
The plan also includes creating AI Growth Zones in Scotland and Wales, where private investment is expected to pour in, creating thousands of new jobs.
These zones will offer fast-track planning for data centres and training hubs, powered by cutting-edge energy sources such as small modular reactors (SMRs).
It comes amid growing concern that massive AI infrastructure could hike household bills – with Amazon’s new AI hub in Indiana expected to use more power than one million homes.
But Mr Kyle insisted Britain would not follow the same path, explaining: “We are not going to do it in a way that will increase the cost of electricity.
“In fact, we are driving down the cost of electricity in the short term, and into the long term.”
Isambard-AI, which weighs the same as 25 elephants, is powered entirely by zero-carbon electricity and cooled with liquid pipes instead of fans to keep emissions low.
Built in under two years by the University of Bristol and tech firms NVIDIA and HPE, it is the 11st faster supercomputer in the world and 9th for public supercomputing.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
