AI Could Become 2,000 Times More Efficient by Copying the Brain: Study

AI systems, like ChatGPT or Claude, are known for their intensive energy usage. They need to store data in one place and then process it elsewhere, constantly moving it back and forth. It’s a problem which could now be fixed with new research.

A team of physicists from Loughborough University have designed a device that can process data that is changing over time directly inside the hardware. Traditional systems have relied on software-based methods to do this in the past.

With this new chip, the team of researchers argue that it could be 2,000 times more energy efficient than existing methods.

“This is exciting because it shows we can rethink how AI systems are built,” said Dr. Pavel Borisov, lead author of the study, in a statement. “By using physical processes instead of relying entirely on software, we can dramatically reduce the energy needed for these kinds of tasks.”

Where conventional AI systems are akin to sending documents back and forth between two offices (memory and processor) over and over, with this new chip, it could be like having one smarter office, working on everything in one place.

Brain gain

At the heart of the chip is a memory resistor, a memory chip that remembers past signals. That memory alters how it responds to new signals—in other words, it’s not just following instructions, but learning from history. This is an idea modelled on the human brain.

“Inspired by the way the human brain forms very numerous and seemingly random neuronal connections between all its neurons, we created complex, random, physical connections in an artificial neural network by designing pores in nanometre-thin films of niobium oxide as part of a novel electronic device,” said Dr. Borisov.

“We showed how one can predict the future evolution of a complex time series using these devices at up to two thousand-times lower energy consumption compared to a standard software-based solution.”

AI is often used to process data that changes over time, such as weather reports, stock market tracking or wave analysis. They might not be random, but they are sensitive to small changes.

For these more chaotic kinds of measurements, traditional AI systems need to use huge amounts of energy to keep up with all the small changes, sending information back and forth. This new chip could be perfectly designed for these more chaotic systems.

By analysing past measurements and experiences, the chip better learns to track and understand these chaotic types of measurements, reducing the energy output needed.

While we often think of AI as something like ChatGPT, or facial image software, it is found in most applications these days. This tool is aimed not at static information, like a chatbot, but at time-dependent information.

“Heart beat rates, brain electric activity, the outside temperature. These are all changing every day. There are capable applications that track these, but they are energy-intensive and they require a stable online connection to a server,” Dr. Borisov told Decrypt.

These are the kind of areas this chip could be implemented in, creating smarter systems for data that isn’t stable, often changing throughout time.

“My end goal would be for this kind of technology to be used in a time-dependent signal. Whether that’s in a car, a robot, a nuclear power plant, or in a smart watch,” he added. “For example, to monitor if someone has a stroke or not, to monitor the health of a car engine, or that the nuclear reactor is operating normally, this sort of thing.”