Researchers at Oxford University have made a groundbreaking discovery that could revolutionize the field of artificial intelligence (AI). In collaboration with the Universities of Muenster, Heidelberg, and Ghent, they found that using less complex light sources instead of high-spec lasers can improve performance in specific optical applications, including AI technologies. The study challenges the conventional wisdom that more coherent light sources, such as lasers, always enhance system performance.
Coherence refers to the consistency of light waves over time and space. Low-coherence light sources emit light across a wide range of wavelengths, while high-coherence sources have a narrow wavelength range. The researchers demonstrated that low-coherence light sources can outperform lasers in specific scenarios, particularly in photonic AI accelerators.
Oxford AI research: light sources optimized
These accelerators use photons instead of electrons for AI computations, offering a potential breakthrough in AI technology. During the study, the team used a partially coherent light source distributed into various input channels of a parallel AI computational array. The system successfully identified Parkinson’s disease patients with over 92% accuracy by analyzing their walking patterns.
The study’s first author, Dr. Bowei Dong from the University of Oxford, explained, “The benefit of using ‘poorer’ light sources has a scaling effect. If the photonic accelerator scales to 100 input channels, you can run your AI models 100 times faster than a laser system.
Professor Harish Bhaskaran, who led the research, added, “While this work showcases the use of such partially coherent light in some emerging areas of photonic computing, we will also investigate whether this insight might apply to optical communications, particularly in the emerging optical interconnect technology space.
This groundbreaking research opens new avenues for efficient and cost-effective AI technologies, potentially revolutionizing the field and broadening the scope for future applications.
