The Identity of IOWN E-Book

Akira Shimada

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 151

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

What Is IOWN?
NTT's Leaders Provide the Full Story

IOWN has drawn increasing attention in the media and elsewhere. But you may be wondering what exactly this advanced communications solution is that is rapidly spreading around the world.

With generative AI, the metaverse, and IoT linking to all sorts of objects, the world is consuming electricity at a pace that is accelerating at astonishing speed. It is easy to imagine that these technologies will require an incredible amount of power.

Our savior in this situation could be IOWN, the next-generation information platform designed with NTT's cutting-edge optical technology. Given the explosive growth in data volumes and the accompanying massive power consumption in the near future, we will need IOWN. That is because with this information platform, we have set a target of a 100-fold reduction in power consumption by the aforementioned technologies.

What kind of sustainable future will IOWN enable? In this book, NTT's leaders provide thorough explanations on topics including the technological background, the effect IOWN will have on our lifestyles and society, and specific use cases. Readers will gain a solid understanding of what IOWN is and the impact it will have on our world.

Contents：
Introduction: A Light of Hope for Global Sustainability
Chapter 1 - Commercial IOWN in Action
Chapter 2 - The Impact of Photonics-Electronics Convergence Devices
Chapter 3 - Finding Partners for a Global Platform
Chapter 4 - The Future IOWN Will Bring About
Chapter 5 - Data Security and IOWN
Final Chapter - From the Logic of Quantity to the Logic of Values

Leseprobe

Preface

　Global electricity consumption is increasing at a rapid pace. Despite efforts to reduce that usage, recent advances in digitalization have led to a surge in the amount of data in need of processing, while the appearance of generative AI, which requires computing on a massive scale, has spurred yet more power usage. For example, training a major generative AI tool requires electricity equivalent to one hour of output from a nuclear power plant. As a society, we face serious questions on how we can reduce the power that digital technology consumes.

　The price of humanity’s rapid industrial development has been the heavy burden placed upon the Earth. Climate change in particular has begun exerting a serious impact around the world, making it imperative that we achieve carbon neutrality through such measures as lower power consumption and a greater share of renewables in our energy mix. And looking at the bigger picture, the greatest challenge we face is how to achieve global sustainability.

　Meanwhile, the internet, which has transformed our lives through digitalization and otherwise, also poses major challenges.

　The internet has brought us many benefits. Our society is now so dependent on this infrastructure that it would cease to function without it. One problem with the internet, however, is that it is premised upon best-effort delivery, which means no guarantees about the quality of a transmission. You cannot determine beforehand when the data you send will reach its recipient, nor when you will receive data sent to you. Furthermore, latency can vary according to network conditions. Therefore, it is quite impossible to use the internet, which operates on a best-effort basis in an unstable communications environment, for certain essential functions such as financial transactions where the exact timing of an order can make the difference between its success or failure.

　There is a way to simultaneously solve both of these issues─the challenges posed by the internet and the need to conserve power to ensure global sustainability─and thereby create a smarter society: the IOWN Initiative, which is the topic of this book.

　IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) is a technology platform based on “light”. At NTT, we have spent many years pioneering research on the use of optical fiber to achieve high-speed, high-capacity communications. Humanity has traditionally used electricity to transmit signals from networks to computers, but by replacing that electricity with light, we can dramatically reduce power consumption while achieving stable data transmissions with low latency, at high speed, and at a high capacity.

　We announced the IOWN Initiative in May 2019, and in 2020 we established the IOWN Global Forum, a joint effort between NTT, Intel, and Sony (now the Sony Group). As of September 2024, more than 150 companies and organizations from across the globe have joined this group, where we are proactively working on projects ranging from developing technology and defining specifications to running Proof-of-Concept tests. And March 2023 saw the launch of APN IOWN 1.0, the first service to come out of the IOWN Initiative. This marked our long-awaited entry into the commercialization phase.

　What exactly is this IOWN technology that is quickly spreading across the planet? This book will show you. As you can gather from the fact that the IOWN Global Forum is at the heart of promotional efforts, IOWN is something that NTT is building not on its own, but with all of you. In the future, we expect to see a steady stream of new businesses emerging from this initiative.

　And when it comes to ensuring global sustainability, we must not be complacent, as we cannot expect somebody else to improve the situation for us. It is crucial that we take it upon ourselves to act. My hope is that through this book, you will come to understand and endorse the IOWN Initiative, and that you will join us in action to create a more sustainable planet through this initiative.

Akira Shimada

President, CEO of NTT

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: A Light of Hope for Global Sustainability

IOWN, Essential to a Sustainable Planet

Contributions to creating a sustainable society with exceptionally low power consumption

The coming explosion of data

The need for data-driven solutions to social issues

The problem of faster power consumption due to the growth of generative AI

Should we halt technological innovation when a problem comes up?

Light: the way to use less power

Roadmap of Advancements Toward 100x Better Power Efficiency

Latency is already down to 1/200th

IOWN 2.0 to connect boards with light at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan

Co-creation with Partners

Establishment of the IOWN Global Forum in the United States

Incredibly lower power consumption will contribute to planetary sustainability

Chapter 1 － Commercial IOWN in Action

Initial Impact of Spread

The first mention of IOWN at a U.S.-Japan summit

The long-awaited launch of commercial services

Unnoticeable ultra-low latency for music and sports

Creating the first international IOWN APN connection

Training Programs Kick Off

Training program to produce IOWN pros

Why IOWN Is a Game Changer

From the telephone to the internet, and now IOWN

The internet and a seismic shift in society

Signs of the internet’s limitations

IOWN will bring time synchronization back to the network

Conversations between AI chatbots also need accurate time synchronization

The economic logic of the internet : a double-edged sword

It all started with a research paper published in 2019

Redefining Data Centers

The issue of where to build data centers

Proof-of-Concept test along 100km between Yokosuka and Mitaka

Enabling local energy production and consumption

The next step: computing

Chapter 2 － The Impact of Photonics-Electronics Convergence Devices

Expanding IOWN from Networks to Computing

Expanding photonics-electronics convergence technology to smaller devices and chips

Massive Data Center Efficiency Gains with IOWN 2.0

Connecting components with light to transcend the “box”

Next-generation disaggregated computing

Disaggregated computing Proof-of-Concept tests already conducted

Optical Semiconductor Chips Will Meet the Demands of the AI Era

The “three arrows” for boosting chip performance

The first arrow: miniaturization

The second arrow: high-density packaging

The third arrow: optical communication between chips

NTT’s membrane technology supporting optical advancesments

Developing Photonics-Electronics Convergence Devices In-House and Automating an Art

Provide devices after establishing production and mounting processes

Building a global ecosystem with many corporate partners

Chapter 3 － Finding Partners for a Global Platform

The IOWN Global Forum, Founded with Intel and Sony

Expectations exceeded with over 150 members

Weekly meetings ahead of the forum’s creation fostered unity

Documentation produced in online meetings until the first in-person conference in the fall of 2022

Dual Focus on Technology and Use Cases

Tech and user company participation creates a virtuous cycle

Embarking on Proof-of-Concept testing

Two Categories of Use Cases to Implement

AI communication

Cyber-physical systems

The IOWN Global Forum’s Vision for the Future

Promptly starting up businesses is more persuasive

Key People Speak on the IOWN Global Forum

For a Sustainable Future

Rong-Shy Lin, President, Chunghwa Telecom

Looking Forward to Strong Leadership

Gilles Bourdon, Vice President of Wireline Networks & Infrastructure, Orange Innovation

Chapter 4 － The Future IOWN Will Bring About

IOWN & AI

A starting point to addressing AI-related problems

NTT’s proprietary LLM: tsuzumi

AI needs diversity, too

AI constellations will reveal lines of reasoning

Efficient collaboration between multiple AIs

Four use cases for AI constellations

IOWN & Quantum Computers

Quantum computing, the ultimate goal of IOWN

IOWN in the Wider Society

Construction: remotely operated construction machinery to address labor shortages

Medicine: telehealth to correct regional disparities in care

Broadcasting: remote production to enhance live broadcasts

Data backup: distributing backups in real time

Esports: creating fair online competitions free from latency’s impact

Smart cities: an information distribution platform for big data

Space communications: a new future for space exploration with light data relays and HAPS

Chapter 5 － Data Security and IOWN

Safeguarding the State’s Data

The state is the data which defines it

Backups Aren’t Enough

Data movement to protect important information

What is a safe place to store data?

Data holds the same importance for companies

IOWN can safeguard organization-defining data

Final Chapter － From the Logic of Quantity to the Logic of Values

From Quality to Quantity, from Quantity to Values

Japan lost out on the logic of quantity

Amassing quantity requires a global start

Lessons learned now applied to the IOWN Global Forum

Toward a logic of values fostering mutual respect

New social infrastructure requires a new philosophy

Aiming for a society with multiple layers of values

From the Digital to the Natural

What Is the Identity of IOWN?

Afterword

Reference List

Writing Contributors

IOWN, Essential to a Sustainable Planet

　“Innovating a Sustainable Future for People and Planet.”

　This was the message in one of NTT’s TV commercials. It is the basic concept behind our approach, “New value creation & Sustainability 2027: powered by IOWN,” in the NTT Group’s Medium-Term Management Strategy. It also clearly demonstrates the NTT Group’s commitment to taking on the challenge of creating a sustainable planet and society.

　Society now faces numerous problems in need of solutions in many areas, such as climate change, biodiversity, and health care. To address these issues and create a sustainable society, some say it is essential that we adopt a “data-driven” approach, which entails the collection and analysis of large amounts of data to identify optimal solutions. However, the more data we have, the more power consumed by the data centers processing it (Figure 0-1). The fact is, this rapid increase in power consumption could be a major obstacle to creating a sustainable society.

　The IOWN Initiative, the topic of this book, is the game changer that will solve this dilemma. As the inclusion of the phrase “Powered by IOWN” in the name of the NTT Group’s Medium-Term Management Strategy shows, we are directing all our efforts toward promoting this initiative to create a sustainable society.

Contributions to creating a sustainable society with exceptionally low power consumption

　IOWN is a new network and computing technology platform based on years of NTT Group R&D on optical technology. By using optical signals to replace the electrical signals used in communications and computation, we will enable functions that were previously impossible. Optical signals will also allow us to drive the rate of power consumption from processing data for communications or computing down to one-hundredth the amount we use now. The IOWN technology platform has an enormous range of potential applications, from long-distance international networks to the nanoscale wiring inside computers.

　To dramatically lower this power usage, there are limits to what we can do through further improvements in semiconductor technology that is based on conventional electrical signals. We believe that the key to guiding society toward sustainability with low power consumption is to fundamentally shift networks and computing from electricity to light through IOWN.

The coming explosion of data

　Let us take a more in-depth look at the situation society now faces.

　Firstly, humanity has been generating a steadily increasing amount of data in recent years, and that rate is set to accelerate exponentially. For example, the quality of the videos we enjoy is getting better and better. Even with an ordinary smartphone, today we can easily shoot and watch high-definition 4K video. The trend toward higher resolution will expand to a much wider range of applications, including dashcams and the surveillance cameras installed around our cities. Ultra-high-definition video with 16K resolution contains approximately 750 times the data in current full HD video. Naturally, we can only handle 16K data effectively if we upgrade our networks and devices to handle 750 times more data.

　Another factor contributing to greater data volume is the spread of virtual spaces in the metaverse. For example, estimates indicate that holding an online meeting in a three-dimensional setting in the metaverse, rather than with traditional two-dimensional images, requires about thirty times as much data. Another important task is the collection of real-world data, and this is expected to grow rapidly. The Internet of Things (IoT), by which objects are connected to the internet, seems set to spread at a faster pace, allowing us to obtain data from more and more of the things around us. According to predictions, the number of devices connected to the internet will increase to 125 billion by 2030, an increase of about fivefold from 2017. As a result, global data traffic will grow by more than twenty times between 2028 and 2036 (Figure 0-2).

The need for data-driven solutions to social issues

　As stated near the beginning of this chapter, to tackle the social issues our planet faces, it is critical that we adopt a data-driven approach that emphasizes the importance of this information at our disposal. Whether the issue is climate change, biodiversity conservation, or health care, it is essential that we obtain detailed data and utilize it in real time so that we can manage and improve the situation.

　Take the fight against climate change, for example. By closely monitoring what changes are occurring in what areas, we can begin to understand the mechanisms at work and the scope of the impact. In terms of nature-positive efforts to restore biodiversity, the first step in devising a strategy is to understand the current situation, including the behaviors of different species, whether their habitats are expanding or shrinking, and how climate and geographical conditions are changing.

　As for collecting data on the Earth, the NTT Group has already released AW3D, the world’s first digital three-dimensional map representing the elevation of all the land on the planet’s surface in five-meter increments. It uses high-resolution satellite images from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and U.S.-based Maxar Technologies, which operates the world’s most advanced satellites, to reveal the true appearances of the Earth in fine detail, from urban areas to mountainous regions that are largely inaccessible to people on the ground. Before we take action to create a sustainable society, we must analyze the Earth’s condition with data such as this digital three-dimensional map.

The problem of faster power consumption due to the growth of generative AI

　Collecting and analyzing such a massive amount of data to help address social issues will also require a corresponding increase in power usage. For example, the Green IT Initiative that Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry launched in December 2007 predicted that in the future, IT equipment will consume approximately five times more power in 2025 compared to 2006, rising to around twelve times more in 2050.

　Furthermore, the rapid development of AI has accelerated the growth in power consumption in recent years. In particular, the creation of a large-scale language model (LLM), which is central to generative AI, requires a tremendous amount of computational processing. Some recent generative AIs possess tens of billions of parameters. Building a language model on this scale reportedly requires 1,300 megawatt-hours of power, which exceeds the amount of power a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant can generate in one hour (see Chapter 4). What’s more is that a large-scale language model needs yet more power to perform regular updates. At this rate, our society will require an unimaginable amount of power.

　It is within this context that Google revealed in its July 2024 annual environmental report that the company’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by around 50 percent over a four-year period. Google attributed this to the expansion of the data centers it needs to develop Gemini, its proprietary generative AI. The same trend can be seen at other American companies such as Amazon and Microsoft, as they build data centers for their generative AIs, too.

　If power consumption continues to rise along the current trajectory, restrictions on its use may one day force us to suspend technological innovation. Or, before that happens, global warming may progress to the point where the planet becomes too hot for humans and other living things to survive. Unless we dramatically reduce the amount of power we use, our society will eventually cease to function.

Should we halt technological innovation when a problem comes up?

　What, then, are we to do? Should we slow the pace of technological innovation to consume less power? Should we abandon AI, give up on new development, and go back to the “good old days”?

　No. Slower innovations in technology will certainly not solve the problem. With eight billion people living on this planet, we cannot avoid putting a heavy burden on it. However, technology could mitigate that strain. In fact, history shows that technological innovations have improved humanity’s impact on the global environment.

　Let’s take air pollution, for example. It was a problem for Japanese society in the 1960s. People in this country in their forties or older may recall the daily “photochemical smog” warnings in the summer. However, thanks to innovations such as better exhaust gas purification technology and the shift from coal and oil to electrical energy, the air quality in Japan’s cities has improved considerably.

　The swift spread of renewable energy is also a gift of technological progress. In both Japan and around the world, the cost of generating renewable energy such as solar and wind power has fallen dramatically over the past decade. In certain regions, it is now even less expensive than power from fossil fuels. We are in the midst of a rapid transition from energy that is obtained by mining and burning the Earth’s limited resources, to more environmentally friendly and sustainable energy sources from the sun and the wind.

　Ultimately, humanity cannot halt the march of progress. The path we should choose at this point is to encourage technological innovation while simultaneously working to address the social issues that arise from it. Perhaps what we need in this era is a paraconsistent logic by which we can simultaneously achieve conflicting goals that a dualistic approach would rule out. To not use something simply because it will require more data and power is not the way to true well-being. Data and power are essential to human well-being. IOWN could be the key to reconciling our conflicting needs for well-being and a livable planet.

Light: the way to use less power

　IOWN’s main distinguishing trait is that it replaces electrical signals with optical ones. What, then, are the benefits from replacing electricity with light?