Having only existed in the technology mainstream for little more than a year, the pace of generative artificial intelligence innovation has been rapid.

While last year saw a surge in gen AI discussions, this year, the focus has shifted toward the critical role of data in driving this transformative wave. Data is the foundational element underpinning any AI-related exercise, and care must be taken — at the enterprise level — to maintain the hygiene and effectiveness of said data.

“Companies have long understood that they need high-quality data,” said Mindy Ferguson (pictured), vice president of messaging and streaming at Amazon Web Services Inc. “What they’re understanding right now, though, is that it’s more than just accuracy. It’s also the timeliness of that high-quality data that really adds to this generative AI space. I couldn’t be more happy with how our data streaming services are set up to play in this gen AI world.”

Ferguson spoke with theCUBE industry analyst John Furrier at the “Supercloud 5: The Battle for AI Supremacy” event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed announcements from the AWS camp, the evolving data landscape and the intricate dance between data, technology and business strategy.

Empowering gen AI with Amazon MSK on Graviton3

One key unveiling for AWS was the release of Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka on Graviton3. Met with palpable enthusiasm, the key improvement with this update is significant performance improvements — boasting greater compute, higher throughput and increased power efficiency over comparable EC2 instances, according to Ferguson.

The update not only addresses the insatiable demand for more data in generative AI models, but also aligns with AWS’ sustainability goals, a testament to the company’s commitment to innovation with environmental responsibility in mind.

“We’ve shipped a ton of new things in our streaming services over the past few weeks and, today, we’re shipping out one that we’re quite proud of because customers have asked us for Amazon MSK on Graviton3,” she said. “You can get 29% more throughput and save up to 24% on compute costs over an M5 instance. Because I am so obsessed with our sustainability goals, I love this number — 60% better power efficiency over other similar EC2 instances. We’ve had a lot of customers asking us to be able to run Amazon MSK on Graviton3.”

Companies have to balance speed, cost and performance in the era of gen AI. The cost equation, in particular, has a direct impact on companies’ enthusiasm to adopt AI solutions. Graviton3 addresses that concern by providing a cost-effective solution with significant performance gains, according to Ferguson.

“I came into AWS as a customer, so even as recently as 2022, cost was top of mind for me as a customer,” she explained. “We definitely heard it last year in the 2022 re:Invent. We’re still hearing it again this year, although it’s just getting started. But solving it from a cost point of view and just the sheer cost benefit of Graviton3 is one thing.”

Data must be seen beyond just a platform, but a living backbone, drawing parallels to the initial promise of the internet as a connectivity tool. Data pipelines, particularly in the streaming and messaging domain, act as the connective tissue, enabling organizations to tap into the untapped potential of their data, according to Ferguson.

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the “Supercloud 5: The Battle for AI Supremacy” event:

Photo: SiliconANGLE