Image classification approaches the speed of light

Distinguishing letters is usually easy for the human brain. The lines on p and d are flipped, for example, and the curves in an a and the cross of a t are dead giveaways. As we read text on a page, neurons in our brain fire, propelling sensory input through complex networks that allow us to interpret and categorize the letters. Computer chips, particularly graphics processing units (GPUs), can achieve the same task with neural networks of their own. When used for applications such as facial recognition, GPUs transform the impinging optical information into electrical signals.