Intel's latest chip is ditching traditional computing architectures for a system that models itself on how the human brain works.

On Monday, the company launched a neuromorphic product, codenamed "Pohoiki Beach," that processes data like a biological brain does by simulating a whole network of neurons. The approach speeds up how the silicon processes information, with Intel saying its new chips work "up to 1,000 times faster and 10,000 times more efficiently" than traditional CPUs for certain AI-related workloads.

Pohoiki Beach is compromised of 64 smaller "Loihi" chips, which together can simulate 8.3 million neurons. That may sound like a lot, but it's actually on par with the brain of a small rodent. The human brain, on the other hand, is estimated to have close to 100 billion neurons.

Nevertheless, the new chip promises to power the latest AI-powered algorithms. Specifically, Intel says Pohoiki Beach can produce huge speed gains in computing related to image recognition, self-driving vehicles, and automated robots.

Pohoiki Beach is currently available at no cost to Intel's neuromorphic research community, which includes more than 60 different partners. However, the company went out of its way to state that it hopes to one day commercialize the neuromorphic technology at a time when Intel is striving to create faster, more power-efficient silicon.

"Continuing the gains in power and performance enabled by Moore's Law will require more than continued process-node scaling," Intel said in the announcement. "As new complex computing workloads become the norm, there is a growing need for specialized architectures designed for specific applications."

Time will tell if the chip technology one day filters down to the company's PC processors. But you can expect Intel to talk more about the neuromorphic chips in the future. Later this year, the company plans on scaling the technology to 100 million neurons. However, Intel isn't alone in creating neuromorphic chips. Qualcomm and IBM have also been developing silicon around the computing approach.

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to say Intel is making the Pohoiki Beach system available to its research partners at no cost.

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