Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has purchased IBM Research’s supercomputing platform for deep-learning inference, based on 16 IBM TrueNorth neurosynaptic computer chips, to explore deep learning algorithms.
The brain-like computer network will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and four billion synapses.
The technology could be incorporated in next-generation supercomputers able to perform at exascale speeds, 50 times faster than today’s most advanced petaflop systems.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will use the new system to “explore new computing capabilities” surrounding the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) missions in cybersecurity, control of US nuclear weapons, and, in theory, management of agreements to reduce the number of nuclear missiles in the world.