While many companies are pursuing the promise of AI, Equinix has gone a step further. Today, we’re announcing we’ve become the first (and only) company to deploy reAnimated intelligence (reAI) technology in a data center setting.
In collaboration with Dr. Hans Frankenstein, a pioneer in the exciting field of reAI, we’re proud to introduce Frankie, the newest member of the Equinix team. Frankie will work inside our latest Equinix IBX® data center, which we’ve built inside a foreboding Gothic castle nestled into the Carpathian Mountains of southern Transylvania.
Frankie is the outcome of decades of reAI work from Dr. Frankenstein and his team, and we jumped at the chance to help him apply that work to a data center environment. After a quick “shopping trip” to the local cemetery, the good doctor had all the supplies he needed to create the ideal data center worker. He stitched the pieces into place, waited for a stormy night, and then threw the switch to bring the creature to life.
“I knew my creation needed all the characteristics of the ideal data center worker—the intelligence of an engineer, the nimble fingers of a mechanic, the 20/20 vision of pilot, the strength and endurance of an athlete, just to name a few,” said Dr. Frankenstein. “I’m proud to say that Frankie is all of those things and more. While it’s true some have called me a ‘mad scientist’ in the past, they can’t argue with these results!”
Frankie was also designed with a chip implant that allows his brain to communicate directly with cloud-based reAI services. Once a day, Frankie’s memories and experiences are backed up to the cloud. In addition, his programming is updated using the latest results from our proprietary reAI learning models. This ensures that Frankie is getting a little bit better all the time. Going forward, we hope to take the things we’ve learned from the Frankie pilot program and scale them into a global on-demand service offering, helping more of our customers capitalize on the power of reAI technology in more places.
What’s in a name?
After Dr. Frankenstein’s hard work finally came to fruition, we set out to give his creation the perfect name. After all, you’d have to be truly crazy to bring someone to life and then not give him a name. The team spent hours discussing different options, taking inspiration from Greek mythology, the works of William Shakespeare, and even our childhood pets.
In the end, we decided to name him Frankie, in honor of his creator. Some people may have a problem with that, but it’s just so much easier that way.
Learning from the mistakes of the past
As our more astute readers will know, Dr. Hans is not the first member of his family to dabble in the field of reAI. We’re aware of the…unpleasantness…experienced by his ancestor Victor. To avoid a repeat, we’re offering Frankie everything he needs to be happy and satisfied in his new position:
Purpose: The elder Dr. Frankenstein brought his creation to life just to let him be gawked at by pitchfork-toting townsfolk. In contrast, we’re giving Frankie the chance to make a positive contribution to society from Day 1. Thanks to our innovative Monster as a Service business model, Frankie works directly with our customers to fuel their business success. This includes helping them design solution architectures, install and service hardware, set up network connections and much more.
Social interaction: A lack of companionship turned out to be a major problem for the original Frankenstein’s monster. After all, no one likes feeling lonely, and we made it our mission to ensure Frankie never has to. As a participant in the Equinix Careers for the Reanimated and Undead program, Frankie will have ample opportunities to connect with various monsters and ghouls who joined the Equinix team before him, including vampires, zombies and ghosts.
Support: At Equinix, we believe in creating a culture where every employee can say “I’m Safe, I Belong, and I Matter”, and this goal includes our reanimated team members. Frankie had this to say about his experience working at Equinix:
“As a reanimated creature, I’ve experienced a lot of emotions in my short time, particularly the existential horror of knowing that I was summoned forth out of nothingness by a man with a bad haircut,” said Frankie. “My predecessor didn’t know how to process these feelings, so it’s no surprise he ended up going on a murderous rampage. Things are going to be different for me: Equinix helped me find a great therapist, and now I know how to keep my anger in check. Just because I am Frankenstein’s monster doesn’t mean I need to act like a monster!”
So, what does Equinix have planned next for Frankie and all his spooky friends? Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until next Halloween to find out. Until then, our dedicated human employees are available to help you with all your digital infrastructure needs in 250+ data centers across the world.
Happy Halloween from Equinix!
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