New Computing Platform Takes on Petabyte-Scale AI Data Privacy
- By CDOTrends editors
- June 07, 2023
In an era where data is the new gold, protecting it has become a formidable challenge, especially when dealing with large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning. The tech company has forged a new alliance with Intel to address this issue head-on. This collaboration is set to introduce the AntChain Massive Data Privacy-Preserving Computing Platform (MAPPIC)—a tool to ensure the privacy of large-scale AI training data.
This MAPPIC platform will be offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution underpinned by the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technology. Combining the strength of Ant Group's open-source TEE operating system, Occlum, and Intel's open-source framework BigDL PPML, MAPPIC allows developers to easily integrate major distributed AI frameworks into the TEE, requiring only minimal software adjustments.
Providing a comprehensive package, Intel contributes vital hardware support for MAPPIC. This includes TEE hardware capabilities through Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX) for Confidential Computing and potent BigDL distributed machine learning libraries. Meanwhile, AntChain infuses MAPPIC with top-tier computing services that are secure, efficient, and user-friendly. These services include application security audits, distributed key management, and the technical support of scenario-based configuration and Web3 interaction capabilities.
"We are excited to join hands with Intel to launch MAPPIC," said Zhang Hui, chief technology officer at Digital Technology Business at Ant Group. His excitement stems from years of exploring and developing privacy-preserving computing technologies like TEE to facilitate "secure and reliable industry collaboration in Web3, AI and other technology areas.”
The sentiment is echoed by Dr. Wei Li, vice president and general manager of artificial intelligence and analytics at Intel, who says, "We are pleased to work with AntChain to launch MAPPIC, which will provide users with innovative solutions for data privacy protection." This collaborative spirit is part of Intel's commitment to promoting the development of cutting-edge technologies and applications with partners.
The AntChain-Intel alliance isn't new; in May 2020, they came together to facilitate IT equipment leasing for SMEs, increasing transparency and trust via blockchain and semiconductor technologies. Further bolstering its commitment to privacy-preserving computation, Ant Group topped the list of patent applications in 2022, with 1,152 patent applications to its name, according to IPR Daily and incoPat. Moreover, it partnered with Tsinghua University's Institute of Advanced Studies in April 2023 to launch the Joint Research Center for Privacy-Preserving Computation and Blockchain.
Today, data breaches are more the norm than the exception. The AntChain-Intel collaboration to launch MAPPIC is considered by both parties to be a major step forward in the quest to provide robust privacy-preserving computing solutions. With an eye on the future, AntChain plans to incorporate more trusted hardware like Intel® Trust Domain Extensions (Intel® TDX) for virtual machine isolation and heterogeneous hardware accelerators with MAPPIC.
Image credit: iStockphoto/Pakpoom Makpan