Researchers in Australia have built an ultra-compact artificial intelligence (AI) chip capable of performing calculations using the power of light at the speed of light, potentially drastically reducing the energy footprint of AI computing.
The prototype, developed at the University of Sydney's Sydney Nano Hub, uses photons instead of the electrons used in traditional computer chips that rely on electricity, the university said in a statement.
The study, published in Nature Communications, said the prototype could help develop more energy-efficient AI hardware as global AI demand continues to grow.
The nanophotonic chip uses light, which travels without electrical resistance, and the prototype performs calculations on a picosecond timescale, or trillionths of a second, the time it takes light to pass through the nanostructures, according to the study.
The researchers said the nanostructures collectively help form a neural network, or artificial neurons, that mimics the human brain's ability to recognize and solve calculations.
