Artificial Intelligence, Pietropaolo: “Calabria is a candidate to host the HPC super computer”

"Calabria is a candidate to host a new HPC, a supercomputer for artificial intelligence and quantum computing”. This is the proposal launched by the vice president of the Calabria Region with responsibility for Digital Transition, Filippo Pietropaolo, who is participating in the World Artificial Intelligence Festival in Cannes, an internationally renowned event dedicated to the new frontiers of artificial intelligence.

On the sidelines of the event Pietropaolo has put forward a strategic proposal for the creation of a High-Performance Computing (HPC) in Calabria, underlining how the region can play a key role in strengthening the digital infrastructure of Italy and the European Union.

"Artificial intelligence – he continued Peter Paul – is transforming every aspect of our society, public and private. In this context, the use of AI in administrative procedures can determine a real paradigm shift in the management of public administration and services for citizens. However, to function at its best, AI requires advanced computing capacity, provided by supercomputers known as HPC. Italy is already a world leader in the sector, with the third global supercomputing hub and the second most powerful supercomputer in the world at Cineca in Bologna. However, there is a need to expand this network, and Calabria represents a strategic opportunity for the implementation of a new HPC".

Vice President Pietropaolo also underlined how Calabria is an ideal region to host an infrastructure of this type thanks to two fundamental factors: the availability of energy from renewable sources and the presence of water resources necessary for the cooling of data centers in a sustainable manner.

"Currently, 86% of the regional energy needs are met by renewable sources, an element – ​​he affirmed – that would position Calabria as a sustainable hub for high technology. I propose that the European Union and the national government support the creation of an HPC in Calabria, as an integral part of a digital development strategy for the country.. This project would allow to attract investments and give support to an innovative ecosystem for startups and Small and Medium Enterprises that is in a phase of strong growth in Calabria, with the activity of an ever-increasing number of small and large enterprises in the sector, the contribution of the university system starting from the University of Cosenza, and with the commitment of the Region that is aiming to create the in-house company for digital and an academy capable of training professionals who can find quality job opportunities in the fields of advanced technologies, hardware and systems. The initiative can be included in the broader Italian digital transformation strategy, promoted by the Department of Digital Transformation and Undersecretary Alessio Butti, which includes a national strategy for quantum, entrusted to Serafino Sorrenti, Chief Information Security Officer of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Italian representative at the European Union of the "Quantum Technology Coordinator Group".

In a meeting with Sorrenti, Councilor Pietropaolo reiterated Calabria's willingness to make its territory and infrastructure available to support the national quantum strategy, including through the construction of a high-level data center in Calabria.

"This infrastructure – he concludes Peter Paul – would serve to satisfy the super computing needs that our country requires, essential both for technological innovation (AI) and for security. Our goal is to bring Calabria to the center of the digital future of the Nation".