Artificial Intelligence - Page 28

HBM is the key to AI chips of today and more especially, the future, with HBM production capacity at its limits as AI chip makers like NVIDIA, have been scooping it all up.

SK hynix, Samsung, and Micron lead the HBM memory chip side, with HBM3 and HBM3E orders from all three major DRAM manufacturers completely out of stock until the end of 2025. We've been reporting on that side of the industry heavily, but now all three HBM manufacturers -- SK hynix, Samsung, and Micron -- are expanding HBM production capacity to keep up with the continuously growing demand of the AI market.

This means that the demand for application materials outsourcing equipment and components from the three leading DRAM factories has been "set aside to next year" reports UDN, with their legal person pointing out that due to multiple new customer orders from major semiconductor equipment manufacturers has pushed the order visibility into Q2 2025, meaning that performance of the markets is expected to be strong throughout this year, and into 2025 easily.

NVIDIA has been pushing new technologies into gaming through ray tracing, DLSS, AI-powered technologies, and so much more... but we all know that AI is the future of gaming.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said one of those AI-powered technologies could be similar to how RTX Remux acts, but would do it in real-time. Jensen was asked recently "AI has been used in games for a while now, I'm thinking DLSS and now ACE. Do you think it's possible to apply multimodality AIs to generate frames?"

Jensen replied: "AI for gaming - we already use it for neural graphics, and we can generate pixels based off of few input pixels. We also generate frames between frames - not interpolation, but generation. In the future we'll even generate textures and objects, and the objects can be of lower quality and we can make them look better. We'll also generate characters in the games - think of a group of six people, two may be real, and the others may be long-term use AIs".

Elon Musk's startup xAI has made a massive order with various hardware companies to create a powerful supercomputer that will be used to power Grok.

The CEO of Dell Technologies, Michael Dell, took to his personal X account to announce that Dell has partnered with xAI to construct a "Dell AI factory". Dell isn't the only company onboard with the supercomputer project, as NVIDIA will provide the horsepower with its powerful AI GPUs, and Supermicro will handle one-half of the total number of racks. Elon Musk clarified on his personal X account, "Dell is assembling half of the racks that are going into the supercomputer that xAI is building."

As for the horsepower, Musk stated earlier this month that xAI was on the verge of bringing 100,000 liquid-cooled NVIDIA H100 GPUs online, but Musk isn't totally thrilled with their efficiency, especially with NVIDIA's next-generation Blackwell GPUs on the horizon. Musk stated earlier this month, "Given the pace of technology improvement, it's not worth sinking one gigawatt of power into H100s. Next big step would probably be ~300k B200s with CX8 networking next summer."

SK hynix is expediting its HBM roadmap that includes HBM4 and HBM4E memory, which were originally planned for mass production in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Now, the timelines have been moved up, and HBM4 is set for mass production in 2025, while HBM4E will enter mass production in 2026, according to sources from Business Korea. The adjustments "align" with NVIDIA's accelerated AI accelerator release cycle, which has shortened from two years to one year.

NVIDIA's current-gen Hopper GPU architecture with the H100 and beefed-up H200 are already dominating, with the new Blackwell GPU architecture with the B100 and B200 AI GPUs sporting faster HBM3E memory. But, then NVIDIA teased its next-gen Rubin R100 AI GPU, which will feature HBM4 memory and drop in Q4 2025.

NVIDIA still hasn't signed on with Samsung for its HBM memory chips, something that will need to be resolved by NVIDIA because it requires Samsung's silicon interposers and advanced chip packaging.

In a new report from TheElec, the huge bottleneck for NVIDIA's current-gen Hopper H100 and H200 AI GPUs is now a shortage of TSMC's CoWoS advanced packaging capacity, with an interposer shortage on the horizon. The interposer is another important key part of AI chips, with the interposer integrating multiple chips into a single package.

NVIDIA's advanced AI GPU itself, HBM memory chips, and more. H100's interposer is 3.3x the size of a lithography mask, and only 9 can be cut form a 12-inch silicon wafer (on the 40nm process). However, the more advanced GPUs like NVIDIA's new Blackwell B100 and B200 AI GPUs are even bigger, and by 2026, with Rubin R100 AI GPUs, interposers will need to be 5.5x the size of a mask... by 2027, we're looking at 8x.

Dell has officially announced a partnership with NVIDIA on constructing an AI factory that is designed to super-boost Grok training, the AI model created by Elon Musk's company, xAI. Dell CEO Michael Dell announced the news on a post on X, check it out below:

Grok is a generative AI chatbot created by Musk's xAI company, based on a large language model that process visual information like documents, diagrams, charts, screenshots, paragraphs and more, as well as its lengthy text capabilities.

SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI founder Elon Musk posted on X about the AI factory news, saying: "To be precise, Dell is assembling half the racks that are going into the supercomputer that xAI is building". In response to which other company xAI is working with, to which Musk replied "SMC" which is Super Micro Computer. Super Micro confirmed with Reuters that it's working with xAI.

Micron Technology is building new test production lines for advanced HBM in the US, while also considering manufacturing HBM chips in Malaysia for the first time, to capture more demand from the AI boom.

In a new report from Nikkei Asia and "sources briefed on the matter," the US-based memory chip company aims to triple its market share for HBM, one of the most crucial parts of AI chips, into the "mid-20" percentage range by 2025. There were reports on this just days ago, but it looks like Micron is full steam ahead now.

This is about the same level of Micron's market share for conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, with TrendForce data showing Micron sits at around 23-25% market share of DRAM. Micron is also expanding its HBM-related research and development facilities, including production and verification lines, at its headquarters in Boisa, Idaho, USA, according to "two people with knowledge of the matter".

Foxconn has won exclusivity on manufacturing NVIDIA's new NVLink switches for its next-gen GB200 AI servers, a key component of GB200, which is known as the "magic weapon for improving computing power".

In a new report from UDN, we're learning that the order volume in 7x that of the GB200 AI server cabinets, where it's not just a new order, but the gross profit margin is also "much higher" than that of server assembly. It will become a powerful tool for Foxconn's gross profits and supplement its profits.

Foxconn has never commented on its orders or customer dynamics, but the industry has highlighted that the exclusive technology behind NVIDIA's new NVLink consists of two parts. First is the bridge technology, which connects the CPU and the AI chips together, while the other is the switch technology, which is the key to the interconnection between the GPUs.

NVIDIA couldn't be the company it is today without Taiwan, and CEO Jensen Huang knows that, and respects it, as well as the country itself.

During a recent interview, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently said that the company's $100 billion revenue is mostly manufactured in Taiwan, noting that AI has benefited Taiwan and that Taiwanese companies can thrive in the upcoming AI era.

In the full interview, Jensen said: said: "For over 25-years, we've been [working with companies in Taiwan]...Another reason is technology excellence. The ecosystem is unparalleled. Every aspect of building chips and building computers are located here. All the way down to the most minute, complex connectors that connect very high-speed cables are manufactured here".

NVIDIA announced the "most powerful AI chip on earth" by introducing its Blackwell-based GB200 AI superchip. Taiwan companies Foxconn and Quanta won major contracts for GB200 AI servers.

According to a new report by UDN, Foxconn will be handling 40% and Quanta will take 30% of GB200 AI servers, with shipments expected to begin in Q3 2024, driving a "big jump in overall revenue performance". NVIDIA's new DGX GB200 will also begin mass production in the second half of this year, with estimates of around 40,000 units in 2025.

Foxconn and Quanta will be the main suppliers of NVIDIA's upcoming NVL72 and NVL36 AI server cabinets, with UDN reporting that industry experts saying Foxconn has received orders for three categories of "DGX GB200" system cabinets (DGX NVL72, NLV32, and HGX B200). Foxconn said that GB200 series products will be shipped in rack form, with rough order estimates as high as 50,000 containers, with total revenue contribution to hit 2.5 trillion to 3 trillion yuan (around $344 billion to $413 billion USD or so).

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made quite the famous trip to Taiwan this year, not just for Computex 2024, but to meet important tech partners in the country.

During his time, Jensen was interviewed by local media where he said that NVIDIA's annual growth exceeds $100 billion with various GPUs and AI GPUs, and that most of them are made in Taiwan. AI applications have benefitted Taiwan, and Taiwanese companies can thrive in the AI wave, reports CNA.

Jensen said that the AI era is a new beginning, something that NVIDIA has been preparing for a very long time now. Taiwan's technology industry is fully committed to the future of AI, with Jensen saying during a recent interview: "I am very happy to see this phenomenon".

Researchers have used machine learning techniques, the fundamental technology powering artificial intelligence, to analyze hundreds of wild elephants that were captured between 1986 and 2022.

The team published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, which states that researchers looked at how each elephant "rumbles." These rumblings are believed to be the primary way elephants communicate with each other, and the study has broken the rumbles into three categories: greeting, caregiving, and contact calls.

While there are other prominent rumble categories, such as "let's go," the team found the aforementioned three types of rumble are most likely tied to names between elephants. Notably, the study found through the power of AI analysis that elephants appear to be attaching names to these rumbles, which is very different from imitation communication that is used by dolphins or parrots to communicate.

One of the most prolific tests a machine can undertake is called the Turing Test, created by Alan Turing in 1950 that's purpose was to test if a machine is capable of displaying a level of intelligence that can convince, or fool a human they are engaging with another human.

Researchers have put OpenAI's GPT-4 up against the Turing Test, and according to a new study the impressive large language model passed the test. The not-yet-peer-reviewed-study asked 500 people to engage with four different respondents. One of those respondents was a human, another was a 1960s-era AI called ELIZA, another was OpenAI's less sophisticated GPT-3.5, and finally GPT-4.

The paper states each conversation lasted approximately five minutes, and according to the study's results, humans found GPT-4 to be a human 54% of the time. These results lead researchers to claim GPT-4 has already passed the Turing Test. However, the study also indicated study participants believed the human respondent was a human 67% of the time, while ELIZA scored just 22%, and GPT-3.5 scored 50%.

After sustained criticism and widespread disdain, Microsoft will not roll out its controversial AI-powered 'screenshot everything you do on Windows 11, including capturing sensitive data' Recall feature as part of the Copilot+ PC launch. Instead, a revamped Recall feature will be available in the coming weeks as part of the Windows Insider Program (WIP).

Copilot+ PCs, which are basically laptops with CPUs equipped with at least a 40 TOPS NPU, are set to hit retail shelves this week. The Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite processor exclusively powers the first run, which, without Recall, will be limited to Microsoft's AI tools for photo and video editing, live captions, and Cocreator image generation. Plus, apps from third parties that require 40 TOPS of AI Performance.

This is for the best, as Recall has been under fire since its announcement on May 20. The controversial snapshot tool - designed to make it easier to search through your local PC usage to find documents, images, or anything else - was quickly discovered to be lacking security features. It would record things like passwords, banking information, and more.

Samsung is preparing to launch 3D packaging services for HBM within the next 12 months. The new technology will be introduced for HBM4, ready for the next-gen AI GPUs of the future, which will be released in 2025.

The company held its Samsung Foundry Forum 2024 in San Jose, California, and teased its new 3D packaging technology for HBM chips in a public event, with current-gen HBM memory chips packaged mostly with 2.5D technology.

NVIDIA is about to introduce its new Blackwell B100, B200, and GB200 AI chips which will use the latest HBM3E memory, but its next-gen Rubin GPU architecture was teased just weeks ago, with the next-gen Rubin R100 AI GPU to feature next-generation HBM4 memory. Rubin will enter mass production in Q4 2025, using TSMC's newer N3 node and new CoWoS-L advanced packaging.

McDonald's has just told its franchise operators on Thursday that it's removing AI order-taking technology from over 100 drive-thrus after a test period ends with an AI partnership with IBM.

A McDonald's spokesperson confirmed the news with Business Insider, saying that customers have been using the AI-powered drive-thru technology since 2021, after McDonald's entered a global partnership with IBM. Under the partnership, IBM acquired McD Tech Labs, something McDonald's created after taking control of AI speec company Apprente back in 2019.

The two companies deployed and developed the AI technology during the test period to "determined if an automated voice ordering solution could simplify operations for crew and create a faster, improved experience for our fans". But, it simply didn't work. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC in June 2021 that the voice recognition technology was accurate about 85% of the time, with human staff assisting in around 1-in-5 orders.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has joined the lexicon for the various now-viral applications of machine learning software. Now, Apple has arrived, unsurprisingly, fashionably late with its own implementation of AI that's slated to hit hundreds of millions of users.

Apple announced in iOS 18 that it will be introducing Apple Intelligence to its new line-up of devices while also outlining what older generation iPhones will get the new features. Simply put, to use Apple Intelligence, you will need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, which are both under a year old at the current time of writing. As for Mac users, Apple states Apple Intelligence will work on Mac's using Apple Silicon, which is models 2020 and up.

So, why this gatekeeping of new AI features from older generations? This problem can be viewed in multiple ways. A common take would be to suggest Apple simply wants to increase its bottom line by enticing consumers with new features that are locked to the latest generation devices to sell more units. While that is certainly happening, there is also a very real hardware limitation for AI features, at least according to Apple and, separately, Microsoft with its Copilot+ PCs.

Microsoft recently announced it was recalling its Windows Recall feature, which uses artificial intelligence and screenshots to enable users to access different times in the past on their Copilot+ enabled PC.

For those who don't know, Windows Recall is one of Microsoft's AI-powered features. The company said it would be released alongside the selection of the new Copilot+ PCs. However, the feature was quickly criticized by many for its impact on user privacy and security, as Recall only works by taking screenshots of a user's desktop - indiscriminate of what is on the screen. This means any sensitive user information such as passwords, financial information, and private content would be captured and stored on the PC.

Security researchers were quick to criticize the feature, saying it was a hacker's dream to have a target's information all aggregated in one file directory. There is also the more simple criticism, which is the feature enables Microsoft to "watch" everything a user does on their device, even if the company claims that none of the screenshots are being uploaded to their servers and that the images are stolen entirely on the user's device.

SIGGRAPH 2024 begins on July 28, where NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will deliver a 'fireside chat' at the show, which is the 50th anniversary of SIGGRAPH, which first took place in 1974.

SIGGRAPH, or Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, is an annual conference that looks into the world of computer graphics. We're talking academics, developers, and GPU makes like NVIDIA and AMD. SIGGRAPH takes place on July 28, running through to August 1.

The official SIGGRAPH page explains Jensen: "Jensen Huang founded NVIDIA in 1993 and has served since its inception as president, chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors. Huang has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is a recipient of the Semiconductor Industry Association's highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award; IEEE Founder's Medal; the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award; and honorary doctorate degrees from National Chiao Tung University, National Taiwan University, and Oregon State University".

Miles Astray entered into a top photo competition with his work titled "F L A M I N G O N E," which received honors from a high-profile jury that included members from the New York Times, Getty Images, Phaidon Press, and more. However, the artist was disqualified after he won the category.

Notably, the competition was under the category of Artificial Intelligence-generated photos, and Astray's real photograph has now been deemed the "first real photo to win an AI award". The reason behind the artist entering a real photograph into the AI category was to demonstrate that people are unable to tell the difference between an AI-generated image and a real photograph and the ethical and societal implications of the emerging technology.

This isn't the first time AI and real photograph has caused a stir in competions, as AI-generated photos have made international headlines for winning photo competitions, which they weren't meant to be competing in Probably the most infamous of these stories is when the Sony World Photography Awards awarded Boris Eldagsen a prize in the Creative category of the 2023 Open competition for his AI-generated image.