Spiking

• The emissions come from the infrastructure associated with AI, such as building and running the data centres that handle the large amounts of information required to sustain these systems.
• But different technological approaches to how we build AI systems could help reduce its carbon footprint.
• While large numbers of parameters improve the capabilities of ANNs, they also make training and inference resource-intensive processes.
• In fact, our current estimates could be lower than AI’s actual carbon footprint due to a lack of standard and accurate techniques for measuring AI-related emissions.

Spiking neural networks

• The previously mentioned new technologies, spiking neural networks (SNNs) and lifelong learning (L2), have the potential to lower AI’s ever-increasing carbon footprint, with SNNs acting as an energy-efficient alternative to ANNs.
• To make accurate calculations, especially when multiplying numbers with decimal points together, the computer needs to be very precise.
• This means ANNs become more energy-intensive as the networks get larger and more complex.
• The key difference between the two types of neural networks is in the way individual neurons transmit information to each other.

Lifelong learning

• Training ANNs sequentially (where the systems learn from sequences of data) on new problems causes them to forget their previous knowledge while learning new tasks.
• ANNs require retraining from scratch when their operating environment changes, further increasing AI-related emissions.
• L2 is a collection of algorithms that enable AI models to be trained sequentially on multiple tasks with little or no forgetting.

Shirin Dora does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• SINGAPORE, Jan. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) today maintained its 2024 growth forecast of 4.5 percent for the ASEAN+3 region in its January quarterly update of the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO).
• Strong domestic demand amid moderating inflation and continuing improvement in trade will propel growth, despite uncertainties surrounding the global outlook.
• The ASEAN+3 region is forecast to end 2023 with a full-year growth of 4.4 percent, slightly higher than last October's projection of 4.3 percent.
• The upward revision reflects the higher growth of 5.2 percent for China, up from last quarter's forecast of 5.0 percent.

• However, it increased from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2023 in 192, or 97 percent, of those metro areas.
• HELOC mortgage originations increased from the first quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2023 in 79 percent of the metro areas analyzed.
• The second quarter of 2023 saw increases nationwide in both the median single-family home loan and the typical down payment percentage for home purchases in the second quarter of 2023.
• The median down payment of $31,500 on single-family homes and condos purchased with financing in the second quarter of 2023 was up 19.1 percent from $26,450 in the first quarter of 2023.

• Additionally, the patent safeguards the feature of reconfigurability in a neural processor, which enables the development of multipurpose and cost-effective hardware designs, such as Akida™.
• “Patents are hallmarks of a company’s innovation, domain expertise and prowess in pushing the bounds of technology,” said Nandan Nayampally, Chief Marketing Officer at BrainChip.
• “This latest award from the USPTO not only protects our unique approach to neuromorphic computing and learning, but further enhances the commercial value of our IP.
• An additional thirty patent applications remain pending in the US, Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, and Israel.