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Introducing Probability into Chip Design

Posted by Hemos on from the learn-more-about-it dept.

prostoalex writes "The August issue of Intel Developer Update has an interview with Shekhar Borkar, Intel Fellow and Director of Circuit Research at Intel Corp. talking about the future of microprocessor design and what goes on inside Intel Labs. Borkar tells why we need even faster processors and how probability will make its way into future chip designs - "It's like the shift from Newtonian mechanics to quantum mechanics. We will shift from the deterministic designs of today to probabilistic and statistical designs of the future.""

3 of 271 comments (clear)

  1. Is this new? by Jugalator · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "We will shift from the deterministic designs of today to probabilistic and statistical designs of the future"

    Doesn't branch predictions in current processors use probabilities already?

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  2. Re:Is that 1.999 repeating? by blancolioni · · Score: 4, Insightful


    The supremum of all reals less than one is one. The set itself, as you said, doesn't have a maximum element.

    In a not-at-all-patronising way, I'm surprised that this is even up for discussion on /. but that's probably my bad. Anyway, say X was the maximum real number less than one. Let Y = 1 - (1 - X) / 2. Now clearly Y is less than 1, but also Y - X = (1 - X) / 2 which is > 0 since 1 - X > 0, so Y > X, and therefore X is not the maximum.

  3. That is a very smart man. by mr_luc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Listen to that guy. He just GETS it.

    I am actually, to some extent, inspired by that article. Corporate BS policies aside, whatever you think of Intel or AMD or any other company as a company, as a political entity, or as a producer or consumer goods, you still have to feel good that there are people like that, people that just GET the overriding vision of advancing technology, and are actively working to advance it.

    I don't have time advance technology much in my current job. I don't have the mind or the skills or the time for boundary-pushing endeavors. Some at /. do, and contribute all their mind and skills and time to furthering open-source and other efforts, and that is very commendable.

    But as we often lament, it sometimes seems like the Big Boys don't have the same spark. Let's not forget that somewhere within the pudge of even the fattest multinational technology company, there are brilliant, passionate minds working to further everything we hold dear. These are people who aren't just brilliant scientists or passionate geeks -- they're both. And they're on our side. :)