Part of a collaboration between IBM, Empire State Development (ESD), and NY CREATES, the eight petaflop IBM POWER9-equipped AI supercomputer is configured to help enable users to explore new AI applications and accelerate economic development from New York's smallest startups to its largest enterprises. Named AiMOS (short for Artificial Intelligence Multiprocessing Optimized System in honor of Rensselaer co-founder Amos Eaton, the machine will serve as a test bed for the New York State - IBM Research AI Hardware Center, which opened on the SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) campus in Albany earlier this year. The AI Hardware Center aims to advance the development of computing chips and systems that are designed and optimized for AI workloads to push the boundaries of AI performance. AiMOS will provide the modeling, simulation, and computation necessary to support the development of this hardware. "Computer artificial intelligence, or more appropriately, human augmented intelligence (AI), will help solve pressing problems, from healthcare to security to climate change. In order to realize AI's full potential, special purpose computing hardware is emerging as the next big opportunity," said Dr. John E. Kelly III, IBM Executive Vice President.

Roughly 3,000 people -- many of them science-minded high school students -- gathered at SUNY Polytechnic Institute this week for the 2019 FIRST Robotics Competition. Steve Ference, the director of university communications at the college, said the event was incredibly exciting for a number of reasons. "This is a great opportunity for engineering students to show off all of their knowledge, but it's also a great opportunity for SUNY Polytechnic Institute to showcase all that we offer," he said. "This is a great pipeline for students who are interested in STEM to look at SUNY Poly as a place of opportunity where they can learn the skills -- like these skills so they can thrive," he added. The three-day event began Thursday and continues through Saturday in the college's Wildcat Field House, with teams of ninth- through 12th-graders from around the world competing for a chance to move on to the FIRST Championships in April.

IBM and SUNY Polytechnic Institute are creating an artificial intelligence "hardware lab" in Albany. The facility will be part of a larger, $2 billion commitment by the company to New York state that will keep IBM in Albany for years to come. Under the terms of the deal, Empire State Development will provide a five-year, $300 million grant to SUNY Poly for what's being called the AI Hardware Center at the institute's Albany campus. The facility is expected to create hundreds of new jobs. In exchange, IBM has agreed to extend its presence at SUNY Poly's Center for Semiconductor Research through 2023, with an option for another five-year agreement after that.

IBM is planning to invest over $2 billion to help establish an "AI Hardware Center" at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute campus in Albany, as well as boost its high-tech footprint throughout New York State. The Center will be set up for artificial intelligence-focused computer chip research, development, prototyping, testing and simulation, and help solidify the region as a global hub for research and development. "New York has always been at the forefront of emerging industries, and this private sector investment to create a hub for artificial intelligence research will attract world-class minds and drive economic growth in the region," Governor Cuomo said in a press release. "Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform how we live and how businesses operate, and this partnership with IBM will help ensure New York continues to be on the cutting edge of developing innovative technologies." IBM's investment will be extend beyond SUNY Poly, where the company is a long-time anchor, to include other IBM facilities in New York State.