Universal photonic artificial intelligence acceleration

&quot;Universal photonic artificial intelligence acceleration&quot; (2025) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41586-025-08854-x" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41586-025-08854-x</a> :<p>&gt; Abstract: [...] <i>Here we introduce a photonic AI processor that executes advanced AI models, including ResNet [3] and BERT [20,21], along with the Atari deep reinforcement learning algorithm originally demonstrated by DeepMind [22]. This processor achieves near-electronic precision for many workloads, marking a notable entry for photonic computing into competition with established electronic AI accelerators [23] and an essential step towards developing post-transistor computing technologies.</i>

This is going to transform our society more than anything else. A giant foundation model can be cast for very, very cheap inference. Imagine the improvement from room sized computers to your iPhone, applied to this branch of technology.

Photon-based chips vs electron-based chips? It&#x27;s interesting that photons and electrons are closely related: two neutral photons can become an electron-positron pair and vice versa.<p>The paper mentions that their photonic chip is less precise than an electronic one, but this looks like an advantage for AI. In fact, the stubborn precision of electron-based processors that erase the quantum nature of electrons is what I think is preventing the creation of real AI. In other words, if a microprocessor is effectively a deterministic complex mechanism, it won&#x27;t become AI no matter what, but if the quantum nature is let loose, at least slightly, interesting things will start to happen.