An artificial intelligence technology created by Chinese researchers can create a functional computer in less than five hours.
To demonstrate that machines can design computer chips similarly to humans, a group of 19 computer scientists from five different institutions set out to demonstrate the AI breakthrough.
The researchers stated that the accomplishment, which represented a significant step towards creating self-evolving machines, was accomplished 1,000 times faster than a human team could have.
According to the scientists’ findings, design activity separates humans from other animals and conventional machines, and giving machines design skills on par with or beyond those of humans has been a long-term goal.
The central processing unit (CPU), the brain of a computer and one of the most complex machines ever created by humans, may now be autonomously constructed using a novel AI approach that they suggest.
The project included designing a RISC-V CPU for industrial use that could run the Linux operating system with accuracy of 99.99% in validation testing.
The researchers claimed that the manual programming and verification phase of the conventional design cycle “consumes more than 60-80 percent of the design time and resources” of human teams. The AI avoided this phase by doing the work automatically.
Additionally, the AI was able to independently discover things about computer architecture, including the 1945 invention of the von Neumann architecture.
The traditional design cycle’s manual programming and verification steps—which, according to the researchers, “consume more than 60 to 80 percent of the design time and resources”—were avoided by the AI.
The AI was also able to independently discover things about computer architecture, including the von Neumann architecture, which was created for the first time in 1945.
According to the researchers, the CPU may function at a level comparable to an Intel 80486SX CPU from 1991, which is quite modest when compared to the capability of contemporary PCs.
However, the researchers said that the development of the AI technique has the potential to completely transform the semiconductor industry by drastically shortening the design cycle.
In a report titled “Pushing the Limits of Machine Design: Automated CPU Design with AI,” the research is described in depth.
Leading AI chip manufacturer Nvidia has previously employed artificial intelligence to enhance its computer chip designs. In March, the company published a novel method to AI-powered chip design that has the potential to drastically improve chip costs and boost CPU performance.
