IDRIS is now over fifty years old. Today, part of the future of French HPC and AI is taking shape. GENCIsupplies the need for very large research infrastructures and its takeover by numerous academic and industrial communities. Through IDRIS, INS2I is setting in motion and accelerating a whole area of national scientific production on this tool.
Jean Zay, named after the Minister of Education who co-created the CNRS in 1939, is currently the first converged computer for artificial intelligence and #HPC uses in France. The machine offers a cumulative peak power of 28 Pflops/s. Over the past 18 months, almost 700 AI projects have benefited from its capabilities. This supercomputer can also boast an eco-responsible architecture that is among the most efficient currently in production, pointed out Pierre-François Lavallée, Director of IDRIS.
Beyond the tool itself, the discussion focused on the value of the men and women who make up the ecosystem and ensure its performance. The industry encompasses a wide range of functions and professions, including operations, user support, networks, security and communications.
At a time when GAFAM is vigorously competing for the best talent, the challenge is one of scientific, academic and industrial leadership, as well as digital sovereignty, in France and Europe.
A policy of guidance, training and targeted recruitment levers is essential, if not urgent.
But to achieve this ambition, we need to maintain and develop the different strata: European, national, but also regional. Too great a digital and technological divide between these three levels could have an impact on the country's scientific influence. It is vital to ensure that each of these territorial levels progresses in a consistent manner.
More broadly speaking, all the conditions required to consolidate French AI were discussed during this visit.