The computing landscape is shifting under our feet. We are at an unprecedented state of technology development – specifically with really powerful large language models and other creative computing architectures. As researchers and private companies doggedly work to expand the landscape of what’s possible, innovators must contend with both barriers and openings. By 2030, experts project cutting-edge models will complete jobs in a matter of hours. Today, these same tasks now require humans a full month to accomplish. The journey towards having such capabilities is riddled with challenges.
Unpacking performance evaluation of large language models has proven to be a task of its own. As it stands now, these models have a max latency of 1.4 seconds, making them nonviable in real-time applications. What’s worse, they can fail 50 percent of the time even on the trickiest tasks. The capabilities of these models are already roughly doubling every seven months. Such rapid and dramatic improvements make it exciting to think about larger breakthroughs just over the horizon.
The Evolution of Apache Airflow
Apache Airflow, an open-source workflow orchestration software originally started at Airbnb, is hitting its stride. Fast forward to 2019, when a passionate, dedicated open-source contributor breathed new life into the project. Fast forward to Airflow 3.0, which introduces a modular architecture that runs natively on any platform. This flexibility gives organizations the freedom to use Airflow in a way that best suits their needs, increasing its value across a range of computing environments.
The new modular, open design of Airflow 3.0 not only makes for easier integration, but enhances scalability. As organizations increasingly rely on complex workflows involving multiple data sources and processing pipelines, the ability to customize and deploy Airflow across different infrastructures becomes crucial. This flexibility is essential for organizations looking to simplify their workflows and get more done with less effort.
The more companies and organizations that use Airflow, the more they’ll benefit from collaboration and innovation occurring in the open-source community. This resource, too, is a work in progress and changing for the better. Most notably, it represents a larger move toward shared development and deployment in the software space, further accelerating workflow management innovations.
Innovations in Computing Technology
At least three revolutionary technologies are coming of age in the computing industry. Cortical Labs has released a new kind of biocomputer run by 800,000 living human neurons on a silicon chip, selling for $35,000. This biocomputer, sometimes referred to as a mini-brain-in-a-box, is capable of learning and adapting on-the-fly. Its ability to dynamically respond to stimuli presents thrilling new possibilities for research and applications in AI and neural networks.
Perhaps the most interesting innovation is from Vaire Computing, a new startup devoted to reversible, or at least way less irreversible, computing. Curr energy efficiency record Vaire’s first prototype chip – the Vaire HPC – shows impressive energy efficiency by recovering energy in a single arithmetic circuit. Reversible computing is a paradigm shift that will change the way we do computational tasks. It has the potential to increase energy efficiency up to 4,000-fold over conventional chips.
All these improvements speak to a larger future of reality – the future of sustainable computing, where energy consumption is a core focus by design. The rate of technological change is unprecedented. Solutions like the ones developed by Vaire Computing would be instrumental in shrinking the carbon footprint caused by computing leaps and bounds.
Space-Based Data Centers
Lonestar Data Holdings has taken a groundbreaking step towards protecting this sensitive data. They also recently achieved the successful launch of a one-kilogram, 8-terabyte mini data center to the moon on an Intuitive Machines lander. This mostly hypothetical and yet unparalleled undertaking plans to shield data from possible terrestrial calamities while taking advantage of gaps in a nation’s data sovereignty regulations.
By moving data centers off-planet, corporations aim to avoid the threat of earth-bound hackers and create a more stable environment for their sensitive data. This strategy directly addresses worries about data breaches. Perhaps more importantly, it provides a pathway through the gauntlet of earth-bound regulatory and liability threats. As technological advances for space initiatives advance, such endeavors have the potential to change how we think about data storage and security altogether.
The security implications of sending our data centers into space are enormous. Perhaps even more importantly, it exposes the deepening convergence between technology and outer space. Whether it’s missions to the moon, Mars, or beyond, as humanity pushes further into space, the requirements for reliable and resilient computing solutions will be absolutely essential.