La Jornada: High-performance computing and artificial intelligence cluster presented

The Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (Secihti) and the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDT) presented the National Cluster of High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence, which seeks to promote a national network of high performance nodes in both fields, installed in eight universities and public research centers.

The objective is to strengthen existing infrastructure, expand access to advanced computing resources, and promote scientific and technological collaboration for the development of high-impact projects in strategic areas.

In her message, the head of the Secihti, Rosaura Ruiz Gutierrez, during the signing of the letter of intent to create the cluster, stated that this initiative brings together the strength that each of the participating institutions has in terms of supercomputing, where she recognized that the key is collaborative work.

He recalled that since the administration of today’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo as Head of Government of Mexico City “it is sought that the problems be addressed collectively and that this synergy is fundamental to improve the ways of addressing the problems of a government. We are very clear that the main actors in supercomputing and artificial intelligence are the research and higher education institutions” of the country.

Accompanied by the rector of UNAM, Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas, among other university and scientific authorities, she highlighted that although developing these technologies is a central issue for the current administration, she clarified that AI “is not simply another technology, it is a way of approaching the object of study. That must be analyzed. Supertechnology is supercomputing, there is no doubt, but AI is not just another technology, it is also a way of approaching nature and society.”

The rector added that with this cluster “Mexico will be able to take firm steps towards greater scientific and technological sovereignty, as well as increase its presence in international knowledge generation networks.”

For his part, Héctor Benítez Pérez, general director of Computing and Information and Communication Technologies at UNAM, and also coordinator of the project, highlighted that the cluster will also promote the training of specialists and technicians; Infrastructure and connectivity will be strengthened, and a governance model will be established.

In addition, it seeks to consolidate access to high-performance computing and develop projects in strategic areas for the country, through cooperation networks between different actors in the academic and scientific field.

Meeting at the Secihti headquarters, they added that the project must address four central pillars: governance and ethics; telecommunications and cybersecurity; processing and storage; and research and linkage.