Physicists at Radboud University Nijmegen working on a “quantum brain” have taken an important step.
Given the growing global demand for computingpower, more and more data centers are needed, each leaving an ever-growing energy footprint. “It is clear that we need to find new strategies for storing and processing information in an energy-efficient way,” explains project leader Alexander Khadzheturyan, a professor at the University of Nijmegen. — This requires not only improvements in technology, but also fundamental research into approaches. Our new idea of building a “quantum brain” based on the quantum properties of materials can become the basis for new solutions in the field of artificial intelligence.”
For artificial intelligence to work, a computermust be able to recognize patterns in the world and learn new ones. Today's computers do this using machine learning software that controls the storage and processing of information on a separate hard drive. So far, this technology, based on a centuries-old paradigm, has worked reasonably well. However, this is a very energy-intensive process, scientists emphasize.
Physicists from the University of Nijmegen have studied, maybewhether hardware can do the same without the need for software (software). They found that by building a network of cobalt atoms on black phosphorus, it was possible to create a material that stores and processes information in the same way as the brain, and, even more amazingly, adapts.
In 2018, Hadzhetorian and his staffshowed how you can store information in one cobalt atom. By applying voltage to an atom, the scientists caused an "ignition" - the atom randomly moves between values from 0 to 1, like a neuron. Now they have discovered a way to create groups of these atoms and found that their behavior mimics the behavior of the brain model used in AI.
In addition to observing the behavior of impulseneurons, they created the smallest synapse known today. Unconsciously, they noticed that groups of atoms have an inherent adaptive property: their synapses changed their behavior depending on the incoming information.
Scientists plan to expand the system and build a larger network of atoms and understand why it behaves this way.
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Black phosphorus is the most stable thermodynamically and chemically least active form of elemental phosphorus.