'Nanomagnetic' computing can provide low-energy AI

The new method, developed by a team led by Imperial College London researchers, could slash the energy cost of artificial intelligence (AI), which is currently doubling globally every 3.5 months. In a paper published today in Nature Nanotechnology, the international team have produced the first proof that networks of nanomagnets can be used to perform AI-like processing. The researchers showed nanomagnets can be used for'time-series prediction' tasks, such as predicting and regulating insulin levels in diabetic patients. Artificial intelligence that uses'neural networks' aims to replicate the way parts of the brain work, where neurons talk to each other to process and retain information. A lot of the maths used to power neural networks was originally invented by physicists to describe the way magnets interact, but at the time it was too difficult to use magnets directly as researchers didn't know how to put data in and get information out.