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Azhagarasu ASystems Engineer Analyst EMC azhagarasu.a@emc.com
INVISIBLE ROBOTS
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 2
Table of Contents
Preface ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4
Role of computers ........................................................................................................................... 5
Hardware vs Software ..................................................................................................................... 7
Software Revolution and emergence of Artificial Intelligence ....................................................... 7
Invisible Robots ............................................................................................................................... 8
Healthcare ....................................................................................................................................... 9
IBM Watson .............................................................................................................................................. 9
SOTA home robot.................................................................................................................................... 10
Other developments in Healthcare ........................................................................................................ 10
Transportation .............................................................................................................................. 11
Driverless car ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Uber & OLA ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Internet of Things .......................................................................................................................... 13
Why are we not talking about “Big Data”? ................................................................................... 14
Future of Data Centers .................................................................................................................. 14
The advantage ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 15
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Disclaimer: The views, processes or methodologies published in this article are those of the author. They
do not necessarily reflect EMC Corporation’s views, processes, or methodologies.
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 3
Preface
What will the future be like? Will personal robots become a member of a family? How is Artificial
Intelligence (AI) going to help human beings? These are some of the questions which cannot be
answered until it happens. But for sure we can say that AI is going to play a major role in the years to
come.
Automation was first used widely in heavy industries where a robotic arm can do a lot more than a
number of factory workers could. These robots are programmed to do a very specific task in a
production line. To solve a real world problem software programmers build intelligent software; so that
it could function on its own without any human intervention. Smartphones once were a tool to receive
calls, read emails, check calendar, navigate, and surf the web. Due to the growth of the Internet and
Internet-enabled services, smartphone use exploded. With latest mobile operating systems such as iOS
and Android, every day we use many services packaged as apps or applications.
Each service that we consume has central intelligence, which is built and maintained somewhere else in
the world and the content is streamed over the Internet. That central intelligence is referred as
“Invisible Robot” in this article. The software functions as it is designed to. It can reject a user request
depending on certain factors. But it cannot make a decision on its own to create a new action. The
program can only act according to the logic that is built into it by a programmer. We may think of it as
simple software program processing requests. But I contend that we are witnessing the future in tiny
little forms of intelligence because using software to change the manual process is becoming a common
thing. Gradually, people are teaching themselves to make better use of new services. The day is not very
far off where we may see a device with extraordinary artificial intelligence being used in everyday life.
Recently, scientists and inventors signed an open letter seeking ban on weapons using AI. This implies
that systems with Artificial Intelligence will one day become common. On Dec 11th 2015 an interesting
announcement was made; OpenAI, a nonprofit artificial intelligence research company, plans to create a
platform for other researchers to share their work with the world and plans to establish itself as a
platform for researchers to collaborate with each other. Presently, artificial intelligence exists in many
domains but with limited capabilities. Google Voice search uses an artificial intelligence engine to
provide very accurate results and to be able to understand the human using his/her spoken language is
simply outstanding.
Datacenters today provide all possible resources to build such services. And the datacenter too is
evolving to offer other new services for the future. Over the recent times, EMC has developed new
products and solutions which help developers and entrepreneurs get past their infrastructure challenge
and focus on their product development. This article will provide insights on how software is changing
the world, the type of infrastructure that is needed for such services, and how the future may look.
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 4
Introduction
Our ancestors, ancient Hominid started to hunt over 2 million years ago. Ape-men developed tools that
were used to hunt and butcher animals. The tools were also used for self-defense. Scientists claim that
the meat in diet fueled evolution of larger brains and bodies. Larger brains gave us the ability to develop
hunting weapons and tools, language, and skills to create and maintain complex societies. Only 20,000
years ago humans used animals to aid them in hunting. Studies claim that they used wolves to aid them
in hunting initially and over time due to evolution, those breeds of wolves evolved to dogs. Ancient
humans faced a very uncertain future due to unpredictable climate, predators, and a number of other
factors. Two obvious problems are food and protection from predators. To solve this problem, they
developed a number of techniques. Using animals to hunt is a good example to illustrate how humans
solved the problem of gathering meat for a group of people. In the 21st century, humanity is faced with
problems of different kind, as technology develops we continue to enhance life with the help of it.
“Evolution is not only biological it is also sociological”
Along with humans, the society which we live in also has evolved. The Industrial Revolution during 18th
and 19th century is the starting point of today’s modern world. It fundamentally changed everyday life,
introducing new manufacturing techniques which led to the development of factories where goods are
manufactured. Prior to that, people manufactured items in their house by hand with the help of small
tools. With new factories, goods were mass-produced. Merchants then needed new marketplaces to sell
these goods and they made use of rail, road, and sea. which was also being developed due to the need
of increased transport. Before Industrial developments the merchants provided raw materials and tools
to workers at their house. They then used these to produce a product. The merchants found it quite
difficult to get back the finished product on time. To eradicate this inefficient system, engineers and
innovators invented new machines using steam power or some other source of energy to increase
productivity. The
newly developed
machines were then
used in factories to
mass produce goods.
Production hall of a factory in Germany (1868)
1
1 Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 5
Use of modern machines introduced fear among people as they thought their jobs were at stake due to
the increasing number of factories. Riots were common during this time. The Industrial Revolution made
it tough for the poor and working class. But as time progressed people started to embrace the change
without which today’s modern world may not exist. Just like our ancient ancestors, we solved the
problem of inefficiency in manufacturing by inventing new manufacturing process with the help of
machines or simply, “New Technology”.
Role of computers
Why did we create computers? What pushed us to create something so new? The answer is simple. If
you look back in time, computing machines were created and widely used to replace computors. The
word Computor is categorized as obsolete; it means a
person who performs calculations or simply “human clerks”.
During late 19th and early 20th century thousands of human
clerks were used in various industries such as research,
astronomy, government, commerce etc. In the research
field, usually they were under a scientist and performed
computations. In 1936, Alan Turing (in Picture2) published a
paper titled On Computable Numbers, with an Application
to the Entscheidungsproblem which defines a computer can
be made to calculate different problems by altering its
algorithm. He also defined the limit of an algorithm is the
limit of a computer. The following is what Alan Turing said
about the computing machine:
We may compare a man in the process of computing a real
number to a machine which is only capable of a finite
number of conditions q1; q2; .... qR which will be called “ m-
configurations ”. The machine is supplied with a “tape” (the analogue of paper) running through it, and
divided into sections (called “squares”) each capable of bearing a “symbol”. At any moment there is just
one square, say the r-th, bearing the symbol ∫ which is “in the machine”. We may call this square the
“scanned square”. The symbol on the scanned square may be called the “scanned symbol”. The “scanned
symbol” is the only one of which the machine is, so to speak, “directly aware”. However, by altering its
m-configuration the machine can effectively remember some of the symbols which it has “seen”
(scanned) previously. The possible behavior of the machine at any moment is determined by the m-
configuration qn and the scanned symbol ∫. This pair qn, ∫ will be called the “configuration”: thus the
configuration determines the possible behavior of the machine.3
2 Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
3 A. M. Turing, “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem”, p231.
Image of A. M. Turing
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 6
Not all modern computers act on the above principle. But this is the very first instance of a
programmable computer. Therefore, Alan Turing was named the father of computer science. A number
of other important inventions fueled further growth of computers. Computers really started to expand
its presence only after wide use of the semiconductor; to be very specific its transistors. Earlier
computers were bulky, used large vacuum tubes, and drew a great deal of power. The first commercial
use of a transistor was in hearing aids and portable radios. The price was at a premium but people were
ready to pay for its portability and low power consumption. Slowly, transistor found its way into
computers and replaced vacuum tubes. But they were not powerful yet. William Shockley transistors
made headlines due to its unique capabilities and his company laid the foundation to multi-billion dollar
semiconductor industry. Transistors evolved to Integrated Circuits (IC), thus giving birth to
Microprocessors. The evolution of Microprocessor is a very interesting occurrence in the history of
computer science and it cannot be summarized in a paragraph. I have tried my best to explain in brief:
William Shockley formed a team to work on transistor technology which included famous people like
Gordon Moore, Bob Noyce, Jean Hoerni, and others. Back then they were not famous. They were simply
bright engineers. Eight of them from the team resigned their job at Shockley Semiconductor laboratory
due to increased pressure and micro-management of William Shockley. These eight people were often
referred to as the “Traitorous Eight” (In picture). These eight people then formed a new semiconductor
company called “Fairchild Semiconductor”. The newly formed company grew into a leader in the
semiconductor industry sooner than thought and it all happened because of Bob Noyce and Gordon
Moore’s technical and leadership qualities. Fairchild Semiconductors was able to mass produce chips at a
faster rate compared to other competitors due to a manufacturing technique called “Planar Process”.
Jean Hoerni is the inventor of Planar Process. Bob Noyce was a physicist and Gordon Moore a chemist,
their interest focused on semiconductor technology. Later, Noyce and Moore left Fairchild Semiconductor
to found Intel. Only at Intel, they created first commercially successful Microprocessor.
“Traitorous Eight” from left to right: Gordon Moore, C. Sheldon Roberts, Eugene Kleiner, Robert Noyce, Victor Grinich, Julius Blank, Jean Hoerni and Jay Last.
4
4 Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 7
The introduction of microprocessors opened new segments in the market. Microprocessors soon started
to replace IC’s and transistors in electronic gadgets, military and scientific equipment and other devices.
It fundamentally changed the design of computer systems making way for personal computers and
other computing systems. At this stage, people started to look into the future of computers and its
intelligence and believed one-day technological singularity will be reached after which the future of
humanity would be uncertain. Even today people still believe that systems with advanced artificial
intelligence will take over humanity. This is why investors, engineers, and scientists in Silicon Valley
pledged to regulate artificial intelligence and formed an organization called “Open AI”. Computers
continue to play a significant role in automation and we continue to automate everything which is
possible just like how they did in olden days.
Hardware vs Software
For a while hardware enthusiasts argued that the software running on their systems were not very
efficient and did not fully utilize the hardware resources which they had. This was true until the late 80’s
and 90’s. From the beginning of the 21st century, software is outpacing hardware. Of course the
hardware is also growing simultaneously. It is also true that comparing hardware and software growth is
not valid because they are closely related to each other. The point I am trying to convey is the notion of
people. Earlier people thought that more powerful systems provide more efficiency. This is not true
because the software must be designed in such a way to fully utilize the hardware it is provided with. It
did not happen and to solve this problem engineers started to virtualize resources.
Companies like GE, IBM, and Bell Labs started working on virtualization during 60’s and 70’s. Earlier
attempts were made to access the operating system by more than one user at the same time concept
called time sharing. IBM did succeed in creating a system which allowed more than one user to access it.
Initially, IBM was skeptical about it but jumped into the development after an educational institution
awarded this project to GE. IBM saw the need and developed this system. This level of virtualization was
only available in Mainframes and other purpose built systems. With the introduction of Java,
applications were virtualized. JRE running in any computer lets the application written in some other
computer to run. Only after 2000, the entire server hardware was virtualized using a specialized
operating system called Hypervisor. VMware pioneered server virtualization with its ESXi hypervisor.
There are also open source alternatives. Hypervisors enabled hardware to be utilized to its full extent.
Application virtualization is also widely implemented technology. At present, we have software to
virtualize the entire data center including network and storage. Without debate, most people will agree
software development has surpassed hardware development.
Software Revolution and emergence of Artificial Intelligence
Digital communication became the norm after the development of computers and its associated
services like email, social networking websites, instant messengers, online forums, etc. Earlier, people
used personal device assistants (PDA) to keep track of meetings and other events. Later, mobile phones
carrying the functionality of a PDA became very popular. The services offered in those mobile phones
were ample at that time. Due to its higher cost and subscription charges it remained accessible to only a
certain group of people. While low-cost handsets were also available, they only offered basic
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 8
functionalities such as voice call and SMS. The mobile revolution started with two revolutionary mobile
operating systems; iOS and Android. With the introduction of iPhone in 2007 and Android in 2008, most
people started to believe iPhone and Android-like devices would dominate the future. The phenomenal
success of smart phones is due to its ecosystem. A user is exposed to this ecosystem learns how to use
the device. Soon the user will learn that the default apps present in the phone are enough to perform
general tasks such as voice calls, emails, reminders, SMS, and others. However, the real deal comes with
other apps offered by developers and businesses which are usually downloaded from the app
marketplace. We all know mobile phones need an operating system. The real intelligence is built into
the apps and services. Artificial Intelligence is slowly making its way into our everyday life without us
knowing it is happening. Although there is no standard definition to describe what an AI is, there are
many such definitions available on The Internet.
rtificial Intelligence is not always a human-like robot. We use the term Artificial to denote
something which is not natural. Therefore, Artificial Intelligence is something which is not natural
and an intelligent machine or software created by humans or by an intelligent computer itself.
When a computer makes or creates a system more intelligent than itself we enter into Singularity. A
group of people believes Singularity is yet to come, and it will happen one day. Discussing Singularity will
turn this paper into a science fiction story. It is not necessary to discuss how AI evolved over the years;
rather we can focus on how AI is transforming the world. Not all software can be categorized as AI. In
fact there is no chart or pre-defined method to categorize. Purpose-built software like MS Office cannot
be called intelligent. Think about the software in a driverless car. It navigates itself to a destination or to
any other preprogrammed place without the need for a driver. Partially self-driving cars already exist
but they need a driver to be present at the wheel while it is self-driving. A true example of Artificial
Intelligence is a completely autonomous driverless car.
Invisible Robots
In many science fiction movies the directors use robots as a character (a Humanoid). Will this ever
happen? To get an answer to that question let us understand what are categorized as Robots,
Robots are electro-mechanical devices programmed to execute a specific task. A capability of a Robot is
directly proportional to the design of software. Researchers in various parts of the world are trying to
develop a humanoid which can mimic the functionalities of a human. Similar efforts are also happening
in the software world to mimic the functionality of a human brain in software. So far no one has
succeeded in either of the fields. But efforts are being made and one day we will get there. Mimicking
the physical capabilities of a human body such as walking, lifting, act of balancing, etc. is very complex.
We know how to use our hand to hold a coffee cup while typing on a keyboard and periodically sipping
the coffee. Every task that we perform is due to a result of accurately coordinated action of many body
parts. Replicating this in software is very complex and is one of the reasons why we don’t see a
humanoid sitting in our homes yet. Otherwise, a humanoid would be the most sought after gadget in
the history of mankind.
A
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 9
We know that building such system is complex so why not ask the question; do we really need
humanoids right now? The answer is “No”. Here’s why,
are not trying to automate what humans are already capable of doing. Emotions, pain and
other humanly things are unique capabilities of human beings. Instead, we are focusing on
building Artificially Intelligent software which can enhance our life in many ways.
Therefore, Invisible Robots are powerful and intelligent software which touches lives. Earlier in this
paper, we discussed the emergence of software and arrived at a conclusion that software development
has surpassed hardware development. There are intelligent software services which are functioning and
we use them almost every day without knowing how intelligent they are. It is also not necessary for a
user to know such things. We must have experienced the development of the web from the time each
of us started to use The Internet. The quality of Internet increases as the surrounding technology which
makes the Internet possible also improves. For example, accessing music or a video streaming service
over a dial-up modem will not even load the embedded player. As the technology develops, user
experience also develops. Everybody’s choice is different. The success of a new technology or product
depends on the acceptance of it by the people at whom it is targeted. As we already identified, only the
need for something drives most innovations. It is not true in the case of an Invisible Robot. Without us
identifying, software systems are already making their way into our life. It is not happening without our
acceptance. But when a humanoid is made that can walk on the street, some of us may feel insecure
and hostile due to its human-like appearance.
Healthcare
In recent times, there has been a substantial improvement in the healthcare industry. It’s mostly due to
improved drugs, redefined surgical procedures, and access to historical medical cases. The history of
medical papers is a vital source of information for doctors to quickly understand the outcomes of a
surgical procedure or a treatment. By doing such research, doctors spend significant time of their
already busy schedule. Most doctors are also overworked therefore chances of error are greater
because they have to remember too many things. AI in healthcare aims to eliminate this very problem.
Efforts are underway to develop systems that can access historical patient data and genetic information
to access their condition. The AI will be able to use the images taken of a patient, i.e. image of a wound
due to a fatal accident or a CT scan of a patient who suffered a stroke after an Intracerebral
Hemorrhage. It will then be able to immediately assist doctors in what treatments are required for that
particular patient. Also, the system may be able to show additional references for the doctor to consider
reading. A similar system is already assisting doctors in the hospital; IBM’s Watson. There are other
software solutions available for the general public and targeted at health care institutions.
IBM Watson
IBM started Watson as a research project in 2006 and first commercialization of the product was in
2011. In 2012, IBM Watson expanded to financial applications. IBM Watson is based on cognitive
computing. Cognitive systems understand natural language, it adapts and learns from user selections
and responses and then generates and evaluates evidence based hypothesis. IBM Watson is powered by
We
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 10
infrastructure built using IBM POWER7 (in picture). Watson receives the data (only text) and converts
the data to numeric form. Then, the data is analyzed by the program to predict the next outcome. The
system then continues to predict many different possibilities and finally provides the best possible
answer. IBM Watson for Oncology treatment analyzes the patient record (plain text in English) to create
a treatment plan. The nurses or doctors in the institution can readily use the treatment plan suggested
by the system, saving not only time but also eliminating human error that may occur. IBM opened
access to Watson by making an API and there are apps and solutions available today which use IBM
Watson.
IBM Watson5
SOTA home robot
This robot is developed by NTT Data, a Japanese company. Designed to be a personal health assistant for
elderly people, it can communicate in Japanese with the user and can also connect to other devices at
home such as smart TV, lighting system, health trackers, etc. The robot can fetch the data from personal
health trackers to monitor the health of the users. It also has a speech engine which it uses to
communicate and understand the user.
Other developments in Healthcare
In the not too distant future robots can replace nurses. Generally referred to as service robots, they can
be used for very basic tasks such as carrying medical tools, food, and other supplies. I believe that
healthcare is the first industry that will benefit from advanced artificial intelligence because the need is
greater. Everybody wants to live longer and stay younger at the same time. Researchers are continuing
5 Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 11
to enhance human lives and certainly Artificial Intelligence will play a pivotal role in shaping the
healthcare industry in the near future.
Transportation
During the industrial revolution, horses and other animals used by humans to travel from one place to
another were replaced by the automobiles. In the 21st century efforts are underway to remove human
drivers. Google self-driving cars is a good example of autonomous vehicles which do not require a
human driver at all. In fact, at present the most advanced self-driving car is from Google. It’s not only
self-driving cars that are changing the transportation industry; services offered by Uber and OLA are also
transforming the industry. Not that long ago, we used to make a phone call to book a taxi ride, now we
can do the same with a few taps on a mobile device. Of course there is no AI behind Uber and OLA but
the software which they developed is worth noting. This is an example of how software can be used to
transform a business and substantially increase its efficiency.
Driverless car
Driverless cars are the most futuristic thing that we may get our hands on in next 4 to 5 years. Driverless
cars aim to replace the human driver and will not have a steering wheel and pedals. It is completely
autonomous and can arrive at a specified location. Almost all major car manufactures are working on
having a driverless car on the road. But the fact is, the most advanced driverless car is not from a leading
automobile manufacturer as most of us would think. Rather, it is being developed by Google. If you look
deeper the ambition of Google becomes more visible. They intend to replace human drivers. Not at
large scale but gradually. It is not just Google’s vision, but most automobile vendors are also working to
get a fully functional driverless car on road at the earliest. If the product does not bring commercial
value, no company will develop it. In the case of driverless car, commercialization of such a car is
expected to happen in the public transport segment. Imagine a cab company operating only with
driverless cars; the company can save money due to reduced human resource. On a wide scale if many
driverless cars run on the street the number of fatal accidents may decrease.
Google self-driving car6
6 Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 12
The secret behind Google’s leading position is the infrastructure which they built for the driverless cars
to navigate. The car is already equipped with high-end sensors and other hardware. The car does not
navigate on its own with just what it sees using its onboard sensors. Instead, Google literally mapped the
region where it is being test driven and saved that map in its centralized servers. The map is very
sophisticated and is said to even have details such as the height of traffic poles and other objects in the
map. The map which is on the server does not contain any moving objects; onboard sensors in the car
creates a 3D environment around it and compares that with the map accessed from their servers. Now
the car can easily identify the moving object and what to expect from the environment. Google uses its
massive compute power for driverless car research. Therefore, the car cannot navigate anywhere in a
non-mapped region because the database simply does not exist yet.
Uber & OLA
Uber and OLA are two well-known cab aggregators. Uber is known worldwide while OLA has its services
available only in India. They both provide taxi service to the general public via a mobile app. The only
way to book a taxi ride is via the mobile app. The specially built software is not AI but it is an example to
illustrate how software can be used to change a manual process.
“Technology can save lives”
Without a doubt, the modern world in which we live is due to the development of technology.
Sometimes technology which is used for general use can be lifesaving as well. One such event happened
in Chennai, a metropolitan city located in the state of Tamil Nadu in the southern part of India. In
December 2015, Chennai was stuck by an historic flood. Most people were stuck inside their home,
helpless. Most streets in the suburban area were submerged in water that was almost deeper than a
man’s height. In most parts of city, the steady flow of water delayed rescue attempts. Though the
governments (both state and central) tried their best, the number of people to be rescued was more
than the capacity of what government could do. Realizing the severity of the flood, residents of Chennai
themselves jumped into rescuing people.
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 13
OLA lifesaving boat drops off survivors ferried from waterlogged areas7
Chennai is a coastal city with a beautiful seashore. Fishermen living on the costal side used their small
fishing boats to ferry people from waterlogged streets to a safer place. Seeing this, cab service provider
OLA jumped into offering OLA Boat service to people in distress. OLA tied up with local fishermen to use
their boats to offer help to people. There were reports in the media that many people used this service
to reach higher ground. The image above shows people being dropped off by an OLA boat.
Internet of Things
The term “Internet of Things” (IoT) means connecting everything to the Internet and having the ability
to control it. For instance, it can be household electronic devices such as a washing machine,
refrigerator, lighting system, music player, television, etc. If all are connected, it can be controlled from
a single place. The system can be designed to automate certain processes such as ordering groceries if it
detects them to be running out. Doing so enables the system to learn more about its user and optimizes
itself. Smart homes contain such systems which do a lot of automation in household tasks. Though we
are in the early stage of this development, we may see more of these in every house in the future.
“IoT aims to connect individually functioning appliances, gadgets and other internet enabled devices
with each other to create a positive living experience.”
World Economic Forum identified 21 tipping points and asked its respondents on when they think a
certain tipping point would happen. (“Tipping Points” - moments when specific technological shifts hit
mainstream society8). When asked “When will the first Implantable mobile phone will be commercially
7 Image originally appeared on forbes.com
8 WEF GAC15 Deep Shift Software Transform Society. Page 4. (Refer appendix for URL)
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 14
available”, 82% of respondents expected the tipping point to occur on 2023. There are many other
interesting survey results available in the report. A link to the research can be found in the Appendix.
Why are we not talking about “Big Data”?
With more IoT comes more data. Data is the most important component of an AI engine. Just as fuel is
the most fundamental thing for starting an automobile, “data” is the most fundamental thing for any AI
system to function. People using data from various sources to make something meaningful is called Big
Data Analytics. Similarly an AI engine will use data collected from many sources (depending on its
design) to make a decision, to provide an answer, or to evolve itself.
“Big Data is the fundamental ingredient for Artificial Intelligence"
Traditional IT systems are not a good choice for software which generates different content at
unpredictable rates. Protocols and systems used in a traditional data center do not work well for big
data systems and artificial intelligence. New systems require new type of computing systems. An
Artificial Intelligence engine like IBM Watson requires a massive parallel computing system. Such
systems can be designed with cloud solutions like OpenStack. The technology stack behind an AI engine
needs to be designed well for it to function. Also, developers of such systems must consider giving
access to other systems using an API. This enables others to make better use of the developed system.
Future of Data Centers
We have shown in his paper with many examples that innovation is driven by the need which arises at
that time. Intelligent systems demand new type of Infrastructure because developers often believe that
using the old technology will restrict them to scale their systems in future. New technologies like 3D
XPoint (pronounced as 3D Cross Point) will change the way computing systems are designed. There are
several new protocols in development, the brightest one emerging out of all is NVMe (Non-Volatile
Memory Express). NVMe is a new storage protocol and it is better than SCSI. It uses PCIe as
interconnect. NVMe over Fibre Channel and Ethernet is also being developed so that the existing data
center infrastructure can be used. This presents a new challenge to IT administrators; how to make this
new technology work with existing systems?
The answer is to invest in software-defined data center. Let me explain why through an example of new
technology introduced by Intel and Micron.
Intel and Micron made headlines with the announcement of a new technology called 3D XPoint. It brings
two things to the table; non-volatile memory and an SSD (Solid State Drive) called Optane. Both these
products are fabricated using new 3D XPoint architecture. The new memory is 1000 times faster than
NAND and it is 1000 times denser than conventional memory. Initially during the announcement the
type of interconnect supported by the drive was not known. It was later revealed that it uses PCIe
interconnect and the protocol used to access data is NVMe. Neither PCIe or NVMe are widely used in
the storage industry and NVMe is fairly new. If a server manufacturer announces support of Optane
drives using PCIe interface, how can we get an enterprise to use this new tech for their application?
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 15
The solution is very simple, if a server or node (custom built) is available with Optane drives (once they
are generally available), the nodes can be abstracted by software defined storage solutions like EMC
ScaleIO® and VMware’s VSAN. Software-defined storage solutions do not demand the type of SSD used.
If the drive is detected by the operating system, SDS software can make use of the drives.
The advantage
We proved how software-based block storage solutions can use the new technology immediately after
they are available. Usually, it takes longer for enterprise storage vendors to support new drives that the
drive manufacturer announces. But it is not the same with software. The software is already designed to
make use of any drive that is seen by the operating system. Further tweaks can be made to the software
in relatively faster code release cycles. The Appendix contains links to interesting articles on 3D XPoint.
Investing more in software-based storage solutions and software defining the entire data center will
let customers use new technology and enables them to develop more exciting products faster.
Conclusion
we step into the fourth industrial revolution, the emergence of artificially intelligent systems is
imminent. Only after the year 2020, we will see wide adoption of “Internet of Things” followed
by Artificial Intelligence. Fully functional mechanical Android (Robot with an appearance similar to
human) may be developed after that. As emphasized earlier, technology develops as the need increases.
People will get used to a new way of life which is heavily assisted by things which are connected to the
Internet. Even today we already have enough gadgets to assist us in everyday tasks and to make sure we
are staying fit; there are health trackers and smart watches. The wearables industry will continue to
grow. After 2020, Virtual Reality will have a great impact in electronics and even have the potential to
replace mobile phones. By then, companies would have figured out what content can be delivered in
VR. Overall, the future is going to be filled with various new technologies. A World Economic Forum
report9 suggests that by the year 2023, a super computer can be made in the size of a handheld device.
Some jobs will be replaced with specially designed software systems and robots (where applicable).
Simultaneously, new jobs will be created. People may find it difficult to accept in the beginning but it will
eventually change. Hopefully, efforts will be made to prevent AI from surpassing capabilities of a human.
9 WEF GAC15 Deep Shift Software Transform Society – page 6 (Refer appendix for URL)
As
2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 16
Appendix
1. Turing Paper 1936 - https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/Turing_Paper_1936.pdf
2. WEF GAC15 Deep Shift Software Transform Society -
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC15_Deep_Shift_Software_Transform_Society.pdf
3. A brief look into 3D XPoint – A new technology developed by Intel and Micron -
http://sanenthusiast.com/a-brief-look-into-3d-xpoint-a-new-technology-developed-by-intel-
and-micron/
4. Everything known so far about Intel Optane - http://sanenthusiast.com/everything-known-so-
far-about-intel-optane/
5. Will Intel/Micron 3D XPoint change the game? - http://sanenthusiast.com/will-intel-micron-3d-
xpoint-change-the-game/
6. Why People Think Computers Can’t -
https://www.aaai.org/ojs/index.php/aimagazine/article/viewFile/376/312
7. Inside Google's Quest To Popularize Self-Driving Cars -
http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2013-09/google-self-driving-car
8. The Trick That Makes Google's Self-Driving Cars Work -
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/all-the-world-a-track-the-trick-that-
makes-googles-self-driving-cars-work/370871/
9. The Real Software Revolution? It’s in the Data Center. - http://recode.net/2015/09/03/the-real-
software-revolution-its-in-the-data-center/
10. History Of The Domestication Of Animals -
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab57
11. OpenAI - https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai/
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