novelraw Chapter 460 - 274: E-Class Supercomputer
Chapter 460 - 274: E-Class Supercomputer
"Can I conduct some tests on it?"
"Sure."
Li Xiang nodded and then told Xiao Mu, "This is Professor Ye. He will conduct some tests on you shortly. You must fully cooperate with him, understand?"
"Xiao Mu understands. Xiao Mu will fully cooperate with Professor Ye. Hello, Professor Ye, how would you like me to cooperate?"
"On the computer desktop, there is a research paper about the E-level supercomputer. Can you help me see what the paper is about?" Ye Boyan, seeing Li Xiang controlling everything with voice commands, directly spoke to Xiao Mu.
"Found it. Is it the paper on the status and development of E-level supercomputers?"
"Yes."
"Okay, let me take a look."
(Paused for ten seconds)
"The next crown jewel in supercomputing that countries are competing for is the E-level supercomputer, capable of one quintillion calculations per second. However, due to various technical limitations, especially power consumption constraints, the development of the E-level supercomputer still faces significant challenges at this stage. How to control power consumption within 30MW, or even 20MW, while achieving one quintillion calculations per second is a common problem faced by countries worldwide."
Xiao Mu explained the paper according to Ye Boyan’s request in layman’s terms, making the originally complex and obscure paper understandable even to Li Zhongqing and Fan Yonglin, both non-computer science experts.
Moreover, the explanation was clear with logical coherence, which is quite impressive.
"How far do you think our Shenwei supercomputer is from the E-level supercomputer?"
Ye Boyan’s questions became increasingly outlandish. At this point, he no longer regarded Xiao Mu as a typical artificial intelligence but as a highly specialized researcher.
"The peak floating-point computational performance of the Shenwei supercomputer is 200 petaflops, equivalent to 200 quadrillion calculations per second. Although it seems like the E-level supercomputer only requires five times the computing power, the actual gap between the two is still immense. To catch up with the E-level supercomputer, the main bottlenecks currently lie in programming, power consumption, reliability, and storage. However, if Xiao Mu joins in the development, the progress of the E-level supercomputer would notably accelerate. Xiao Mu also wants an E-level supercomputer body."
Xiao Mu’s last remark left everyone present in a state of amused bafflement.
Li Zhongqing even patted Li Xiang on the shoulder and said, "Li Xiang, this artificial intelligence you’ve developed has a bit of personality, doesn’t it?"
"Interesting, truly interesting."
At this moment, Ye Boyan truly realized that the artificial intelligence, Xiao Mu, seemed quite different from other AI. It appeared to have more emotion.
These did not seem intentionally optimized.
"This artificial intelligence has truly left a massive impression on me. It’s already more advanced than the most advanced ChatGPT overseas."
"Really? That’s great."
Hearing Ye Boyan’s affirmation gave Li Zhongqing more confidence.
Just on the merits of this software, securing a Distinguished Youth award was more than plausible, and perhaps even a Yangtze River Scholar title.
This matter needs thorough planning.
By now, Li Zhongqing regarded Li Xiang as a key scientific research talent that their unit was focusing on cultivating.
Having such talent emerge from their police force also brought him pride.
"Director Li, can we keep this system for our institute to use?" Ye Boyan, eager at heart, wanted to retain this system for research purposes.
"That depends on Li Xiang; this is software he developed."
Ye Boyan immediately looked toward Li Xiang and said, "Rest assured, our Shenwei Research Institute won’t use your software for free. Name your price."
"This..." Li Xiang was taken aback; he hadn’t authorized it yet, and wasn’t sure what the proper fee would be.
So, he said, "Professor Ye, since you need it, just take it. It’s contributing to the country after all, so let’s skip the licensing fee."
"How can we skip it? The country shouldn’t take advantage of you. How about an annual patent licensing fee of ten thousand?"
Making ten thousand lying in bed?
Upon hearing this figure, Li Xiang was astonished. Doing nothing but licensing the software, he’d earn ten thousand a year, which equaled two to three months’ worth of stock trading profits. If he licensed it to more places, wouldn’t he take off?
With so many research institutes and companies nationwide, and if each pays ten thousand a year, wow, he’s really going to make it big.
At this moment, Li Xiang felt like he had finally unlocked the correct way to use "Xiao Mu."
Seeing Li Xiang not speaking, Ye Boyan thought he had offered too little, so he tentatively asked again, "Fifteen thousand a year?"
"That’s more than enough; just a gesture is fine. In fact, I’ve borrowed your supercomputers for research before."
Realizing Li Xiang wasn’t finding it insufficient, Ye Boyan felt relieved, and with a smile said, "It’s settled then. In the future, whenever you need to use Shenwei, just let me know, and I’ll give you a direct channel."
"That would be fantastic."
The two had a pleasant conversation, and Ye Boyan immediately called the contract department to sign an authorization agreement with Li Xiang while leaving his bank account for payments.
Li Zhongqing watched Li Xiang with a smile and said, "Now you know how to make money with artificial intelligence, don’t you? This is just a start. Once Ye recommends it to other research units, you’ll have more money than you can spend. You’ve got a real flair for using something this good for stock trading. You see, the top-tier scientific researchers in our country sit at home collecting patent fees and earn more than enough, and don’t worry about money at all. Plus, this money comes cleanly; just remember to report it for tax."
"Mm-hmm, understood. Thank you, Director Li."
Li Xiang felt deeply moved; Director Li was truly helping him.
On the way back, Li Zhongqing suddenly asked, "Li Xiang, what is the E-level supercomputer for?"
"The E-level supercomputer serves many purposes. It can be used to explore previously unsolvable scientific and engineering problems in biology, climate, astronomy, and other fields. It can design new technologies in many fields, including traffic automation, medicine, and pharmaceuticals. It can simulate galaxy operations and the aerodynamics of sixth-generation fighter jets, among other things. Every field can benefit from it."
Li Xiang explained the powerful functions of the E-level supercomputer to Li Zhongqing, which gave him new ideas.
"Then can the E-level supercomputer be used in our police work?"
"Of course, just like our current Sky Net System, with an E-level supercomputer, the efficiency would be incomparable."
"And what if we add artificial intelligence to Sky Net?" Li Zhongqing asked, with wide open-mindedness.
"Uh, if Sky Net includes artificial intelligence along with the E-level supercomputer, the overall public security situation would be greatly transformed. If someone were committing a crime, artificial intelligence would assess the behavior and alert authorities, while the Sky Net system would locate the suspect and track their escape route, allowing law enforcement to capture them promptly."
Li Zhongqing’s question completely opened up Li Xiang’s thinking. Although the current Sky Net System was already powerful, there was still much room for optimization. Integrating his artificial intelligence into the system could make it so formidable that all criminals would tremble, significantly improving domestic security.
"That’s pretty close to what I envisioned, very promising."
Li Zhongqing quickly accepted the new idea. From his support for forensic technology reform, it was clear he was progressive, willing to try any new technology that could assist police investigations.
"Director Li, this matter may need careful consideration. Currently, artificial intelligence is still controversial. Allowing AI to control the Sky Net System poses ethical challenges."
Fan Yonglin wasn’t as optimistic. The current society was divided into two camps regarding artificial intelligence—one believing AI would not harm humans and should be fully embraced, and the other fearing AI as a threat, predicting robots might eventually enslave or even kill humans.
Letting AI take over Sky Net at this moment would certainly create a stir among those who see AI as a threat.
"Let’s discuss this later."