NVIDIA's Jensen Huang Discusses AI's Impact on Productivity and More at SIGGRAPH 2024
On July 30, news came that Jensen Huang, the founder and CEO of NVIDIA, discussed with Lauren Goode, a senior staff writer at Wired magazine, topics such as the future of AI enhancing human productivity, the energy efficiency of accelerated computing, and the intersection of graphics and AI at the SIGGRAPH 2024 conference.
Jensen Huang, the founder and chief executive of NVIDIA, said that generative AI deeply rooted in visual computing is enhancing human creativity, and accelerated computing is expected to significantly improve energy efficiency.
Everyone will have an AI assistant, Jensen Huang said. Every enterprise, every job position, will have an AI assistant.
Generative AI is expected to improve human productivity, and the accelerated computing technology it relies on will also make computing more energy-efficient, Jensen Huang said.
Accelerated computing can save 20 times or even 50 times the energy consumption and can complete the same processing work, Jensen Huang said. As a member of society, the first thing we have to do is to accelerate every application that can be accelerated, and then reduce the global energy consumption.
Along with this conversation, NVIDIA released a series of innovative technologies.
NVIDIA launched a new set of NIM microservices specifically tailored to different workflows, including OpenUSD, 3D modeling, physics, materials, robotics, industrial digital twins, and physical AI. These updates are designed to empower developers, especially in integrating HuggingFace inference as a service on DGXCloud.
In addition, Shutterstock also launched a generative 3D service, and GettyImages upgraded its products by leveraging NVIDIA Edify technology.
In the field of AI and graphics, NVIDIA released new OpenUSD NIM microservices and reference workflows specifically designed for generative physical AI applications.
This includes a plan to accelerate the development of humanoid robots through a new NIM microservice for robot simulation.
The world's largest advertising company, WPP, is also using Omniverse-driven generative AI for The Coca-Cola Company to enhance brand authenticity and demonstrates the practical application of NVIDIA's AI technology progress in various industries.
Jensen Huang and Goode first discussed how visual computing has driven the rise of many technologies, from computer games to digital animations, GPU-accelerated computing to the recently generative AI driven by industrial-scale AI factories.
All these progress are mutually reinforcing. For example, robots need advanced AI and realistic virtual worlds. Before being deployed to the next generation of humanoid robots, AI can be trained in such a virtual world.
Jensen Huang explained that robotics requires three computers: one for training the AI, one for testing the AI in an accurate physical simulation environment, and the other installed inside the robot.
Almost every industry will be affected by this technology, whether it is scientific computing to better predict the weather with less energy, or collaborating with creators to generate images, or creating virtual scenes for industrial visualization, Jensen Huang said. Generative AI will also completely transform the field of robot self-driving cars.
Similarly, the NVIDIA Omniverse system built around the OpenUSD standard will also be a key technology to use generative AI to create assets that can be used by world-renowned brands.
Brand owners can create brand assets in Omniverse, and through careful planning, brand charm can be gener ated and replicated through these systems.
Finally, all systems, including visual computing, simulation, and large language models, will work together to create digital humans to help people interact with various digital systems.
Jensen Huang said, One of the things we announced here this week is the concept of digital agents, and digital AI will enhance every job in the company.
So, one of the most important use cases that people find is customer service, Jensen Huang said. I think this work will still be dominated by humans in the future, but there will be AI involved.
All these innovative technologies, like any new tool, are expected to enhance human productivity and creativity. Imagine what stories you will be able to tell with these tools, Jensen Huang said.