New chip could revolutionize AI

Chinese researchers have unveiled a new computer chip inspired by the human brain that they say could revolutionize artificial intelligence applications like self-driving cars and smartphones.

The Tianmoc chip is the brainchild of a team at Tsinghua University's Department of Precision Instruments. Their research, published on Thursday in the journal Nature, details a "dual-pathway complementary brain-like perception chip" designed to mimic how the human visual system processes information.

"This is a fundamental breakthrough for China in both brain-like computing and brain-like perception," said Shi Luping, a professor and co-author of the study.