Intel Innovation 2023: Day 1 Keynote Live Blog
Here’s the play-by-play as Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger kicks off Intel’s festival of tech in San Jose, California.
It is time to bang the big AI-generated computational bong — welcome to Intel Innovation, where company leaders and technologists rally developers around Intel’s latest hardware, software and services.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger kicks off the festivities with a live presentation to mark the rise of the “Siliconomy,” a new era of economic expansion enabled by sustainable, open and secure computing power. For developers, the Siliconomy means a new world of opportunity.
More: Intel Innovation 2023 (Press Kit) | Intel Innovation 2023 Keynote Presentation Slides (PDF)
Live Blog: Follow along for a live report on the talk, the guests, the demonstrations and plenty of news.
8:15 a.m.: Hello and welcome! This is Jeremy Schultz, communications manager at Intel, and thank you for tuning in for another Intel Innovation. We’re back at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, where I’m sitting with a laptop in hand and the big stage ahead.
8:25 a.m.: Intel is all about collaboration and this year the venue reflects it. The event hall is set up like a great room — keynote stage at the back and a technology showcase packed with demos filling the rest of the room. Only a data center has more chips inside.
8:32 a.m.: The music stops — and we start off with a video. Pat scribbles S-i-l-i-c-o-n-o-m-y on a whiteboard, a panicked set of employees profess confusion, and Pat escapes with — a soccer ball? ⚽️
In a headband and cleats, Pat is dribbling and sprinting through a training montage, watched by employees eating lunch and some kind of mobile app.
8:33 a.m.: Video Pat awkwardly fist-bumps an employee to end the montage and the real in-the-room Pat charges on stage to a cheering crowd.
8:34 a.m.: Pat’s first message is appropriately for developers: “I’m excited to help you unlock the massive opportunities created by the generational shift to AI.”
He’s also got “some exciting achievements to share” when it comes to “the advancements of Moore’s Law, based on choice and trust in an open ecosystem.” Let’s make some chips!
8:35 a.m.: After that brief intro we’ve got our first guest: Rich Felton-Thomas, director of sports science and chief operating officer at ai.io.
Pat says he’s been training for both Innovation and to “the next career opportunities” — he did show some flashes of speed. 🏃
Richard Felton-Thomas (left), director of Sports Science and chief operating officer at ai.io, speaks with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at Intel Innovation in San Jose, California. At Day 1 of Intel Innovation, Intel unveiled technologies to bring artificial intelligence everywhere and make it more accessible across all workloads. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
8:36 a.m.: Rich explains that ai.io’s aiScout gives players around the world an equal opportunity to be scouted, in an objective manner, with just a mobile device.
It helps teams like the Chelsea Football Club autonomously evaluate a large pool of athletes and has cut the time between discovering a player and signing them from 18 months to 2 weeks. It’s powered by Xeon-based services from AWS. 🦾
8:38 a.m.: Pat’s eager to find out if he’s got player potential: “How did I do?”
Rich shows the coaches’ view to compare Pat to prospects around the world and adds that cognitive tests are part of the profile.
Sorry, Pat. “Your drills weren’t up to Messi levels,” Rich says, “but the San Jose Earthquakes were impressed with your technology acumen” and sent along a jersey.
Richard Felton-Thomas (right), director of Sports Science and chief operating officer at ai.io, presents Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger with a San Jose Earthquakes jersey on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at Intel Innovation in San Jose, California. At Day 1 of Intel Innovation, Intel unveiled technologies to bring artificial intelligence everywhere and make it more accessible across all workloads. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
8:39 a.m.: “I’m flattered!” Pat says. “I think this shows I’m in the right role.”
Rich: “That’s good news — we’re relying on Intel.”
Thanks, Rich! He trots off stage and we’re back with Pat.
8:40 a.m.: The role of computing is undergoing a fundamental shift, Pat says. This is a new time of global expansion where computing “is foundational to a bigger opportunity and better future for every person on the planet.” 🌎
“Welcome to the Siliconomy!”
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger introduces the “Siliconomy” on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at Intel Innovation in San Jose, California. At Day 1 of Intel Innovation, Intel unveiled technologies to bring artificial intelligence everywhere and make it more accessible across all workloads. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
8:42 a.m.: “More plentiful, powerful and affordable processing power is a vital component for growing economies everywhere.”
And of course, he adds, “AI represents a generational shift in computing that is giving rise to the Siliconomy.”
8:43 a.m.: “Developers rule: You run the global economy.” 🧐
Chip architectures are getting more diverse and specialized. “Our commitment to you is access to the coolest hardware and software as early as possible.”
8:44 a.m.: Outside of the quick end of Pat’s football career, we have our first bit of news: “I am thrilled to announce the general availability of Intel Developer Cloud.”
It lets developers build and test applications on the whole big-iron family: Intel Gaudi 2 accelerators, 4th Gen Xeon processors, the CPU Max series and Intel Data Center GPUs. And it includes Intel’s sweet suite of software for AI, deep learning, high-performance computing, rendering and more. 🧰
8:45 a.m.: Pat says the Intel Developer Cloud also lets developers access pre-production hardware and thus prepare to get to market faster.
The folks in the room get an extra boost: “For being here today, every one of you received a code good for a free week of Intel Developer Cloud access!”
8:46 a.m.: More fun with the Developer Cloud: Intel invited companies from the Intel Ignite incubator community to pitch what they’re working on. The winner will show a live demo later in the keynote.
First up is Deep Render, which Pat says set out to solve “the massive problem of too much data, too little bandwidth.”
8:48 a.m.: In a video, Deep Render shows AI-only compression for videos — already achieving 5x smaller files with hope to reach 50x more versus what’s common today.
8:49 a.m.: AI is old, Pat says, in development for 50 years. He recalls working on the Intel 80486 well over 40 years ago, which the team thought would be “a great AI chip.”
“These last 10 years AI has been incredible, redefining itself every two to three years, impacting every domain along the way.”
8:50 a.m.: Intel’s committed “to address every phase of the AI continuum,” Pat adds, including big-time generative AI and large language models.
“We just secured a design that’s a pretty big deal — a large AI supercomputer, built entirely on Intel Xeon processors and 4,000 Intel Gaudi 2 accelerators.” 🎉 Stability AI is an anchor customer, Pat adds.
8:52 a.m.: Dude, Dell’s getting some Gaudi, too. “PowerEdge systems with Xeon and Gaudi will support AI workloads ranging from large-scale training to base-level inferencing,” says Dell COO Jeff Clarke. “We look forward to helping customers transform their business with new applications with this powerful combination.”
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger speaks to recent test results related to 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at Intel Innovation in San Jose, California. At Day 1 of Intel Innovation, Intel unveiled technologies to bring artificial intelligence everywhere and make it more accessible across all workloads. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
8:53 a.m.: Pat’s got MLPerf results to share — we do love our data around here. If you think GPUs when you think of AI, he’s reminding you that 4th Gen Xeon CPUs “can run any general-purpose AI workload.”
And the Xeon CPU Max Series joined the MLPerf party for the first time and “was the only CPU able to achieve 99.9% accuracy” on GPT-J, a large language model.
8:54 a.m.: Alibaba has some fans of Xeon, too. Zhou Jingren, CTO of Alibaba Cloud, is explaining over video that his company’s generative AI and LLMs “achieved an average 3x inference acceleration in response time” on 4th Gen Xeon.
“We look forward to unleashing the power of Intel’s technical advancement, for superior performance and higher efficiency across our AI workloads,” he adds.
8:56 a.m.: Pat shares one of my favorite Gordon Moore quotes: “No physical quantity can continue to change exponentially forever. But that end can be delayed.”
“As the stewards of Moore’s Law, we are in relentless pursuit for more powerful and efficient computing,” Pat says. “We will not rest” in this quest.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger speaks to the future of Moore’s Law on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at Intel Innovation in San Jose, California. At Day 1 of Intel Innovation, Intel unveiled technologies to bring artificial intelligence everywhere and make it more accessible across all workloads. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
8:57 a.m.: And here comes Intel Developer Cloud pitch #2, this time from Scala Biodesign. The startup “uses computational biology and generative AI to dramatically speed up the protein engineering process.” A meaty task, no doubt.
8:59 a.m.: In a video, the founders of Scala explain that proteins make life possible. But it can take years of development and millions of dollars to make new proteins, which often fail. Scala is now taking protein engineering from the lab to the computer.
9:00 a.m.: AI is coming for the PC, too, Pat says, “unleashing personal productivity and creativity.” Ooh, next year we should try an AI-boosted live blog!
“We are ushering in a new age of AI PC.” 🔖
9:01 a.m.: The first Wi-Fi specs came out in 1997 but it wasn’t until Centrino in 2003 that spawned “the wireless world we’re used to today,” Pat notes. That’s where we are now with the AI PC, “a sea-change moment in tech innovation.”
9:03 a.m.: So, what’s the killer app? Demo pro Craig comes up to show three demos in one minute.
9:04 a.m.: Craig generates some music with Riffusion and creates images with Stable Diffusion.
9:06 a.m.: And it turns out the Stable Diffusion demo wasn’t running on the imminent Meteor Lake platform, but rather its successor, Lunar Lake — points to the validation team for testing in front of a live audience. 👩🍳
9:08 a.m.: The Meteor Lake wave is coming soon. “Intel expects to ship tens of millions of new AI-enabled PCs into the market in 2024 and later scaling to hundreds of millions of units,” Pat says.
These new Intel Core Ultra processors include Intel’s first integrated neural processing unit, or NPU, for AI. It’s going to be a great Christmas — Core Ultra launches Dec. 14.
9:09 a.m.: Core Ultra is a “tour de force,” Pat says. It’s a little chip sandwich, built using the Intel 4 process node and Foveros packaging technology.
The NPU adds power-optimized AI performance, available to developers via industry-standard software frameworks and tools, Pat explains.
9:10 a.m.: Intel partners have been working tirelessly to prepare for Core Ultra, Pat says, and we get to meet one. Pat invites Jerry Kao, chief operating officer at Acer, up on stage. Welcome, Jerry!
9:11 a.m.: Jerry: “We’ve been working with Intel for a while to bring Intel Core Ultra to the AI PC.” 🧞♂️
Jerry unfolds a sleek laptop and says it’ll include “a suite of Acer AI applications” built with Intel’s help and the OpenVINO toolkit.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger (left) and Jerry Kao, chief operating officer at Acer, discuss the company’s work with Intel using Intel Core Ultra processors in Acer’s upcoming laptops on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at Intel Innovation in San Jose, California. At Day 1 of Intel Innovation, Intel unveiled technologies to bring artificial intelligence everywhere and make it more accessible across all workloads. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
9:12 a.m.: What can it do? Jerry gives a peek at built-in image generation and a wild parallax responsive wallpaper effect that moves with your eyes.
9:14 a.m.: Thanks, Jerry!
For systems and software makers of the world, “We want to bring the capabilities of the AI PC to realize your software and hardware visions.” Wow, imagine how much meeting time would be saved with AI unmute — when your lips move, you’re unmuted on the call. No more “Pat, you’re on mute!” That’s a free idea I’m putting out there.
9:15 a.m.: There’s more innovation on the horizon. Wafer sighting! “Fresh out of the fab with our Arrow Lake processor,” Pat says, built on Intel 20A. “It’s working as expected.” Pat has chip design superpowers — he can tell the chips are healthy just holding the wafer.
We’re also working on Lunar Lake, Pat says, set for production readiness in 2024. Lunar Lake, shown earlier, promises more AI and “a new architecture designed from the ground up for mobility.”
And after that comes Panther Lake, built on Intel 18A and “heading into fab in Q1 ’24.” Phew, that leaves a little bit of time for hardware-accelerated AI unmute. 🤞
9:16 a.m.: As we pile up these innovations, Pat says, “performance per unit of energy must become our industry’s mission.”
“We have developed technologies across our product lines, for client, network, edge and server that reduce energy consumption.”
9:17 a.m.: Speaking of servers: “Intel Xeon processors continue to deliver on-time against their roadmap.”
And there’s plenty more on the menu.
First up: 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® processors, “launching together with Intel Core Ultra on Dec. 14.” I told you: Save that date!
“5th Gen Xeon boasts more compute and faster memory while still using the same power draw as Intel’s previous generation of Xeon,” Pat says.
9:18 a.m.: That’s not all. 2024’s Xeon platform “will be really good.”
Said platform will deliver innovative E-core efficiency to compete in the cloud and strong P-core performance for critical workloads like AI.
9:19 a.m.: Sierra Forest includes a forest of E-cores and Granite Rapids rocks the P-cores but together offer a compatible hardware architecture and shared software stack to tackle any workload.
Looking to 2025, Sierra’s successor, Clearwater Forest, arrives built on Intel 18A.
9:20 a.m.: I wasn’t kidding when I said, “a forest.”
The Xeon team stepped up to the challenge, Pat says, and will deliver a Sierra Forest SKU “with a whopping 288 E-cores” on the 2024 Xeon roadmap. 🤯
“2024 is shaping up to be a really, really good year for Intel Xeon customers.”
9:21 a.m.: So, we’ve got gobs more cores, AI, performance and efficiency — how’s about some security, too?
“Exponential compute also means a vastly broader attack surface,” Pat says. “We must create a sense of urgency and awareness to usher the dawn of confidential computing.”
And for that: “Tomorrow we’ll be announcing a new portfolio of trust and security services,” Pat says. Book it: Don’t miss Intel CTO Greg Lavender’s keynote tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Pacific.
9:22 a.m.: We’re about halfway through — time to replenish with the five technology superpowers. 🦸
Compute, connectivity, infrastructure, AI and sensing — these technologies “profoundly shape how we experience the world.”
9:23 a.m.: With sensing, “I like to say disabilities become digitally enhanced strengths.”
For Pat, it’s personal. “One of my favorite sounds in the world is my granddaughter’s voice calling me ‘Papa’.” He points to his hearing aid and says without technology, he might not be able to experience that.
Pat invites up Dan Siroker, founder of Rewind.ai, who’s “in search of ways technology can augment human capabilities.” Welcome, Dan!
9:24 a.m.: Dan says he started to go deaf in his 20s and got a hearing aid at 30 — “it was magical.” 🪄
He says that Rewind.ai aims “to give humans superpowers.” It’s like an assistant with perfect memory: Rewind.ai runs in the background capturing your screen and audio, then compresses, transcribes, encrypts and stores your data locally so only you have access.
Then you can ask it questions or give it tasks, like write up notes from a meeting or compose an email.