UK lagging behind China, Russia in global supercomputing race

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Mar 2023 22:40

Scientists published a document as a warning to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the UK is lagging behind Russia and China.

The Cambridge-1 supercomputer, which owner Nvidia Corp says is the United Kingdom's fastest supercomputer, is seen in Cambridge, Britain, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters. Courtesy of Nvidia Corp/Handout via REUTERS

A report published by The Telegraph on Monday revealed that the UK is severely lagging behind Russia and China in terms of supercomputers.

The report, which cited a document issued by the British scientific community, states that the UK was downgraded to number 10 in the list of global supercomputing powers, surpassed by Russia, China, and France.

In 2005, the UK ranked third on the list.

Scientists are now requesting that the government allocates an additional $600 million to develop a new supercomputer that would be capable of training advanced AI programs.

A lack of investment "threatens [the UK's] standing as an international leader in science and technology," scientists said, as quoted in The Telegraph.

The news of this comes in light of a recent announcement by the British government of its plans to invest $445 million in the development of innovative technologies such as quantum technologies, supercomputing, and AI.

The purpose will be to reinstate the UK as a leading global pioneer in science and technology by 2030.

On February 30, plans were announced that IBM was collaborating with the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI) on the construction of the fastest supercomputer ever housed in the UK.

Once operational, the #Hartree supercomputer will be among the fastest housed in the UK, with a performance
capability of between 80 to 100 petaflops - equivalent to around 100 trillion calculations per second.
— Kao Data (@KaoDataDC) February 20, 2023