An optical chip that can train machine learning hardware

A multi-institution research team has developed an optical chip that can train machine learning hardware. Their research is published today in Optica. Machine learning applications have skyrocketed to $165 billion annually, according to a recent report from McKinsey. But before a machine can perform intelligence tasks such as recognizing the details of an image, it must be trained. Training of modern-day artificial intelligence (AI) systems like Tesla's autopilot costs several million dollars in electric power consumption and requires supercomputer-like infrastructure. This surging AI "appetite" leaves an ever-widening gap between computer hardware and demand for AI.