From Europe to India and much more

This week we look at NATO's future plans; India's compact nuclear energy model & its own atomic clocks; how social media monetises data & what's the cost of tomorrow's supercomputer?

Apr 12, 2024

NATO is currently in the process of formulating strategies to secure a comprehensive five-year military assistance initiative, potentially amounting to $100 billion.
The objective is to safeguard Ukraine against potential geopolitical shifts that might arise, particularly concerning the prospect of a second term for former President Trump.
This initiative seeks to consolidate and synchronize approximately $100 billion in assistance pledged by the 32 member states of the military alliance.
Efforts are underway to finalize this agreement ahead of the NATO leaders' summit scheduled to take place in Washington in July 2024.
Concurrently, the Biden administration is facing challenges in obtaining congressional approval for a separate bilateral military support package of $60 billion aimed at Ukraine.

Atomic clock will put India in an elite league

India is presently undertaking a nationwide deployment of atomic clocks to ensure synchronization with Indian Standard Time (IST) across a spectrum of digital devices like watches, smartphones, and laptops. This ambitious initiative, originating over two decades ago following the Kargil conflict, aims at establishing meticulous timekeeping mechanisms.

Functioning akin to traditional clocks, atomic clocks derive their time-base from the distinctive properties exhibited by atoms during transitions between energy states. For instance, when atoms absorb external energy, they ascend to higher energy states. Subsequent decay to lower energy states results in the emission of electromagnetic radiation, forming the foundation for defining a second.

At present, numerous software systems within India rely on Network Time Protocol servers situated in the United States.
However, India's strategic endeavor encompasses the installation of atomic clocks not only in Ahmedabad and Faridabad but also in additional strategic locales such as Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, and Hyderabad.
The comprehensive process of installing and validating these atomic clocks is slated for completion by the June 2024.
Upon successful realization, all computational devices, smartphones, digital watches, and radios within India will seamlessly synchronize with Indian Standard Time, facilitated by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).
While the current timekeeping infrastructure relies heavily on satellites, the government is poised to interconnect all atomic clocks using optical cables to bolster security measures.
India's development of indigenous atomic clocks serves the crucial purpose of reducing dependence on foreign counterparts, particularly for critical infrastructure such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), or NavIC.
This move towards self-reliance grants India complete autonomy over its navigation systems, thereby safeguarding national security interests and fostering technological independence.

NavIC, India’s autonomous regional satellite navigation system, mirrors the functionality of the US-developed GPS but operates under Indian jurisdiction. The accuracy of NavIC, vital for providing precise positional information to users in India and the neighboring region, hinges upon the meticulous timing of signals transmitted by satellites. Atomic clocks embedded within these satellites ensure temporal precision down to a billionth of a second, a prerequisite for accurately determining user locations on Earth.

The impetus for India's pursuit of indigenous atomic clocks traces back to the Kargil War of 1999 when the US discontinued GPS services for the Indian Army, resulting in location inaccuracies.
This incident underscored the imperative for India to develop its self-reliant timekeeping infrastructure.
It is noteworthy that only a select few nations—namely, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Korea—boast their own atomic clock systems, accentuating the significance of India's strides in this domain.

Small-scale nuclear units to address energy needs of India ?

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., a government-owned entity, is in preliminary talks with India’s nuclear power monopoly to potentially develop small-scale nuclear units, a burgeoning technology deemed financially feasible compared to larger facilities.

The corporation is exploring the possibility of partnering with the state-controlled Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. to incorporate small modular reactors (SMRs) into its refining infrastructure, thereby enhancing its power supply with eco-friendly solutions.
Policy makers are actively endorsing the adoption of small-scale nuclear technology, featuring units with capacities of up to 300 megawatts, known for their expedited construction schedules and increased adaptability to grid demands.
Simultaneously, discussions within the Indian government are ongoing regarding the potential involvement of private enterprises in operating and managing these reactors.
Apart from Indian Oil, other government-owned entities like NTPC Ltd., a significant power producer, and Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd., a major player in the hydrocarbons sector, are also exploring opportunities in the nuclear sector.

India's energy mix heavily relies on coal, contributing approximately three-quarters of its total electricity generation, while nuclear power currently represents a modest 3%.

It is noteworthy that among nations actively pursuing SMR technology, China and Russia have operational units, with several others preparing for their imminent deployment, indicating a global shift towards compact nuclear solutions.

Monetising of posts & chats in social media apps

Reddit and Google have recently announced an expanded partnership, reportedly valued at $60 million. This collaboration allows Google, the Alphabet-owned search engine giant, to utilize Reddit's vast repository of user-generated content to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models.

Over the past 18 years, Reddit has evolved into one of the internet's foremost repositories of dynamic, user-generated discussions and insights.
As part of this partnership, Google gains access to AI training data sourced from Reddit, marking a significant milestone in the relationship between the two tech entities.
In June 2023, Reddit implemented changes to its application programming interface (API) policy. This included the introduction of a premium access tier to Reddit's Data API, catering to third-party applications, particularly those utilized by platform moderators, necessitating higher data usage thresholds.
Moreover, Reddit is poised to leverage Google's cloud capabilities through a new collaboration, facilitating the integration of advanced AI-driven functionalities using Vertex AI. This integration is expected to augment various aspects of the Reddit platform, particularly enhancing search functionalities and other core features.

The implications of this landmark deal extend beyond the immediate partnership, potentially prompting other social media platforms to reassess the value of granting AI firms access to their data for the purpose of training AI models.

Cost of a tomorrow’s supercomputer and data center

If you are wondering what a supercomputer would cost in tomorrow's world, here is an indicator:

Microsoft and OpenAI have announced plans for the development of an unparalleled supercomputer, anticipated to utilize millions of specialized server chips and potentially entail an expenditure of up to $100 billion.
To put this into perspective, such a sum would surpass the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bulgaria.
Dubbed "Stargate," this US-based supercomputer is set to become the focal point of a comprehensive five-phase strategy within the next six years. As outlined by sources, Stargate is earmarked as the pinnacle of this plan, slated for a prospective launch by 2028.
The AI-focused data center is poised to tackle considerably more sophisticated computational tasks in contrast to conventional hyperscale data centers.
The Stargate supercomputer project is strategically devised to seamlessly integrate with chipsets sourced from various microprocessor providers. These include offerings from AMD, alongside proprietary server chips developed in-house by Microsoft.