Spanish government strengthens AI capabilities of MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, managed by BSC

• This upgrade, part of the Spanish government's Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2024, will increase MareNostrum 5's processing capacity by almost 50%, over 450 petaflops, or the ability to perform up to 450,000 trillion operations per second.
• Another of the main objectives of the strategy is the creation of a plan for language models in Spanish and co-official languages, ALIA, that are open and transparent, avoiding bias and improving the quality of applications.
• BSC will be the technical coordinator of the Language Model Plan, which will be fundamental for strengthening the country's linguistic diversity and developing multilingual applications with applications in industry.

The Council of Ministers today approved the Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2024, at the proposal of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Civil Service. The strategy provides continuity to the initiatives that the Spanish Government has taken so far in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), adapting them to the significant changes that this technology has undergone in recent years.

The AI Strategy 2024 is based on the fact that supercomputing is a fundamental pillar for the development of AI. For this reason, it provides for the investment of 90 million euros in the creation of new highly specialised clusters to improve the performance of the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, managed by the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre - National Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS), and the strengthening of the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES). These actions aim to significantly increase the computing capacity available to industry and the research sector, enabling more advanced and complex developments in AI. In addition, to promote the use of AI by companies, the strategy includes a commitment to dedicate 20% of the capacity of MareNostrum 5 to industry.

Another key objective of the strategy is the creation and expansion, under the coordination of the BSC-CNS, of a family of language models in Spanish and co-official languages, to be called ALIA, the first results of which will be available at the end of the summer. These models, which will have more than 20% of the training in Spanish and co-official languages, compared to less than 5% of the current models, will reduce prejudices and improve the practical applications that companies and administrations in our country can develop.

A governance agreement has been drawn up for the creation of these models, involving the BSC and 15 specialised institutions, such as the Basque Language Technology Centre (HiTZ) and the Singular Centre for Research in Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS) of the University of Santiago de Compostela, among others.

This strategy reinforces Spain's commitment to being at the forefront of technology and confirms its position as a leader in the development and application of AI solutions. It is an ambitious plan aimed at consolidating and expanding the use of AI throughout the economy and in public administration. It will be implemented in 2024 and 2025 with a budget of €1.5 billion, in addition to the €600 million already mobilised, mainly from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and its addendum.

The AI Strategy 2024 is structured around 3 axes that will activate 8 levers of action.

Axis 1: Strengthening capabilities for the development of AI

This strand of the strategy emphasises the need to strengthen the levers for the development of artificial intelligence in order to make the most of the opportunities offered by this dynamic technology. Specifically, this axis focuses on four elements: strengthening supercomputing, sustainable storage capacity, language models and talent needs.

Firstly, as mentioned above, the AI Strategy 2024 includes the investment of 90 million euros to improve the performance of the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, managed by the BSC-CNS, and to strengthen the Spanish supercomputing network.

Secondly, the strategy includes initiatives for the creation of environmentally sustainable data centres (DPCs) and the implementation of energy efficiency strategies in AI-related infrastructures. These measures will position Spain as a benchmark in the implementation of AI practices that respect the environment and promote the efficient use of resources.

Thirdly, this axis includes the creation and expansion of a family of language models in Spanish and co-official languages, to be called ALIA, the first results of which will be available at the end of the summer. These models, which will have more than 20% of the training in Spanish and co-official languages, compared to less than 5% of the current models, will make it possible to reduce prejudices and improve the practical applications that companies and administrations in our country can develop.

Finally, the fourth lever of this axis is the promotion of talent specialised in Artificial Intelligence, in a context where there is a great demand for professionals. The strategy will encourage the creation of networks and the search for synergies between the projects already underway, which have involved an investment of 600 million euros. In addition, a further €160 million will be invested in scholarships, vocational training and teacher training.

Axis 2: Facilitating the application of AI in the public and private sectors

Under this axis, a procedure for the implementation of AI in the General State Administration (AGE) will be articulated through the GovTech project, which will channel the use cases of this technology through an innovation laboratory to develop pilot projects and innovative solutions for public sector entities. In addition, a common governance model for NSA data and corpus will be developed to guarantee standards of security, anonymity, quality, interoperability and re-use of data.

Secondly, in order to promote the development of AI in the private sector, especially in the area of SMEs and the self-employed, the Kit Consulting programme will be developed, endowed with 300 million euros, so that smaller business projects can hire consulting services for the implementation of AI. In addition, the Kit Digital programme has been expanded to include new AI products, with an investment of €350 million. 400 million will also be made available through the NextTech Fund to facilitate the financing of companies developing AI solutions.

This axis will be completed with the future Cybersecurity Law, which will establish a clear and comprehensive framework to develop national cybersecurity and improve the protection of information systems, networks and data, and with the strengthening of the cybersecurity business ecosystem with AI, which will promote innovation, collaboration and the adoption of AI technologies in the field of cybersecurity.

Axis 3: Promoting transparent, ethical and humanistic AI

The achievement of the objectives of this axis will be articulated through the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA), which will act in three directions: as a centre of thought and analysis on AI (analysing trends, generating social debate and identifying best practices and emerging risks), as a supervisor of the responsible use of AI (certifying AI systems in accordance with the European AI Regulation and establishing best practices to promote transparent and open models) and as an international benchmark (participating in European and global AI governance institutions).

In his assessment during the press conference following the Council of Ministers, the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, José Luis Escrivá, said that the strategy "not only strengthens our technological infrastructure and innovation capabilities, but also ensures that the development of artificial intelligence in our country is carried out under the highest standards of sustainability and ethics. It is a step towards a more digitalised and competitive economy, where technology serves the well-being of all citizens.

Oversight and governance model

The Artificial Intelligence Strategy and its initiatives are coordinated by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, but due to its scope and impact, all ministries will be involved.

To this end, the Interministerial Commission for the Coordination and Monitoring of Policies for the Connectivity and Digitalisation of the Economy and Society within the General State Administration has recently been created, chaired by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence. This committee will report on and monitor the various phases of the measures that make up the strategy.

Finally, in order to ensure that the strategy serves to improve the administration's processes, the ICT Strategy Commission, the highest ICT governance body in the General State Administration, in which all ministries are represented, will meet every six months to identify, select and implement use cases where there are clear benefits for improving services to citizens and having a more efficient and effective administration.

This article was first published on 14 May by Barcelona Supercomputing Center.