A newly-upgraded data module was placed on the sea floor and joined the computing equipment put there before into an underwater artificial intelligence cluster, which was smoothly started at Lingshui, south China's Hainan Province on Tuesday, marking the launch of an underwater intelligent computing center.
The newly placed module, measuring 18 meters in length and 3.6 meters in diameter, accommodates servers which could complete in one second what ordinary computers would calculate in a whole year.
"What are loaded on our module this time are mainly high-performance graphics processing units. In terms of its computing power, it is capable of handling up to 7,000 intelligent conversations per second, including queries and replies. It can be mainly applied to scientific computing, industrial calculation and simulation analysis, and of course some model building, like the establishment of exploration data and big data," said Pu Ding, general manager of the Hainan underwater intelligent computing center project.
From the end of 2022 to the end of 2023, three sets of data center modules, with a total volume of more than 1,000 general-purpose servers, were put into the seabed, mainly to meet clients' computing and storage needs.
In 2024, one of the data center modules was salvaged and upgraded, before it was placed back on the sea floor on Tuesday, to form a powerful computing cluster underwater.
The intelligent computing center cluster uses seawater as a natural cooling source, which can save a lot of land, freshwater and electricity.
Now its operator has signed contracts with some 10 companies. The devices will be applied to large-scale artificial intelligence model training and reasoning, industrial simulation, game production, and marine scientific research.
South China's island province launches undersea intelligent computing center
Efforts are underway in Gaza City to salvage what remains of the territory's cultural heritage after nearly two years of war.
At the ruins of the Great Omari Mosque, Gaza's oldest and largest mosque, Palestinian workers have been clearing and sorting stones dating back more than 1,200 years using basic tools.
"The Great Omari Mosque represents the heart and soul of Gaza City, and Palestine as a whole. The value of these stones is not in their size, but in their deep and layered historical significance," said Husni Al-Mazloom, manager of the Great Omari Mosque restoration project.
Only fragments of the mosque's minarets and a few of its external walls remain standing.
"During the war, it was not only people, trees, and buildings that were targeted, but also thousands of years of human history. Most historical sites in Gaza City were struck and destroyed in an attempt to erase the historical identity of Gaza's people," said Palestinian historian Ayman Al-Balbisi.
Progress on the restoration project has been extremely slow, as Israel continues to restrict the entry of construction materials, even after nearly eight weeks of ceasefire.
On a positive note, however, the project provides locals with more income.
"Before working here, we were unemployed. When this opportunity became available for me and 20 other workers, it allowed us to provide for our families and cover basic needs. During the war, there was no work available for us at all," said worker Ali Al-Qaloushi.
Palestinians have accused Israel of deliberately targeting heritage sites. But Israel denied, saying its strikes followed international law and targeted Hamas tools near or beneath these locations.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has verified damage to 145 religious, cultural and historical sites in Gaza since October 2023, raising fears of irreversible loss in a territory whose history spans more than 5,000 years and carries the imprint of numerous civilizations.
Gazans race to preserve cultural heritage after two years of war
