Google is using AI to design AI processors much faster than humans can

(Image credit: Pixabay)

To one extent or another artificial intelligence is practically everywhere these days, from games to image upscaling to smartphone "personal assistants." More than ever, researchers are pouring a ton of time, money, and effort into AI designs. At Google, AI algorithms are even being used to design AI chips.

This is not a complete design of silicon that Google is dealing with, but a subset of chip design known as placement optimization. This is a time-consuming task for humans. As explained by IEEE Spectrum (via LinusTechTips), this involves placing blocks of logic and memory (or clusters of those blocks) in strategic areas to make the most of the available real estate, both for performance and power efficiency.

It might take a team of engineers several weeks to map out the ideal placement because it's a complex task with a ton of variables. In stark contrast, Google's neural network can produce a better design for a Tensor processing unit in less than 24 hours. This is similar in concept to the Tensor cores that Nvidia uses in its Turing-based GeForce RTX graphics cards, just with different goals in mind.

That's interesting in and of itself, but equally so is the type of AI Google is using. Rather than leverage a deep learning model, which requires training AI on a large set of data, Google is using a "reinforcement learning" system. The short explanation is RL models learn by doing.

There is a reward system involved, so RL models proceed in the right direction. In this case, the reward is a combination of power reduction, improvements in performance, and area reduction. I'm simplifying a bit, but basically, the more designs Google's AI does, the better it becomes at the task at hand (making AI chips).

"We believe that it is AI itself that will provide the means to shorten the chip design cycle, creating a symbiotic relationship between hardware and AI, with each fueling advances in the other," Google's researchers explain. If this works out for Google, it seems inevitable AMD, Intel and Nvidia will eventually try the same approach, too.

You check out the technical details in a paper posted to Arxiv.

Thanks, LinusTechTips.

TOPICS
Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Latest in Processors
Texas Instruments MSPM0C1104 tiny chip
World's smallest microcontroller looks like I could easily accidentally inhale it but packs a genuine 32-bit Arm CPU
Intel engineers inspect a lithography machine
Finally some good vibes from Intel as stock jumps 15% on new CEO hire and Arizona fab celebrates 'Eagle has landed' moment for its 18A node
A photo of an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor surrounded by DDR5 memory sticks from Corsair, Kingston, and Lexar
Fresh leak suggests Intel's on-again-off-again Arrow Lake CPU refresh is back on the menu (boys)
 photo shows a factory tool that places lids on data center system-on-chips at an Intel fab in Chandler, Arizona, in December 2023. In February 2024, Intel Corporation launched Intel Foundry as the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, delivering leadership in technology, resiliency and sustainability.
Return of the gigahertz wars: New Chinese transistor uses bismuth instead of silicon to potentially sock it to Intel and TSMC with 40% more speed
 photo shows a factory tool that places lids on data center system-on-chips at an Intel fab in Chandler, Arizona, in December 2023. In February 2024, Intel Corporation launched Intel Foundry as the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, delivering leadership in technology, resiliency and sustainability.
So, wait, now TSMC is supposedly pitching a joint venture with Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom to run Intel's ailing chip fabs?
Pipboy holds up an open padlock.
A BIOS update could be all that's stopping you or someone else from jailbreaking your old AMD CPU
Latest in News
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam