Growing emphasis on neuromorphic (brain-inspired) computing

Growing emphasis on neuromorphic (brain-inspired) computing

Neuromorphic computing is a computing paradigm inspired by the human brain. Just as the brain both processes and stores information, neuromorphic computers combine data storage and processing in one device, drastically reducing the energy needed for data transfer. This facilitates faster information processing and smoother handling of complex tasks like pattern recognition. It’s less energy-intensive than digital systems.

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Developments in neuromorphic computing are timely as modern data centres consume massive amounts of energy. Integrating neuromorphic processors in data centres could cut the energy needed for AI-processing up to 1000-fold.

Maturity

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Changing dynamics in Responsible AI From large to small language models AR and smart glasses become more prominent Increasing AI-enhanced user experience Growing big tech competition for the XR stack Increased application of FAIR principles to enable digital ecosystems in Europe Growing relevance of TRUST principles for data repositories to secure data More decentralisation of data ownership enabled by SSI solutions Emergence of organisational wallets Push for transparent supply chains with digital product passports Bringing computing resources closer to the ‘edge’ Growing need for automated cloud and edge resource management Growing emphasis on neuromorphic (brain-inspired) computing Integrating photonics for accelerated information processing The battle for airwaves AI/Ops, digital twinning and the emergence of the LLM in network operations Power usage and ecological footprint From ad hoc experiments to applications Towards Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing (FTQC) Cyber-physical technology calls for resilient minds A growing urge for chip sovereignty in Europe

Public Values

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Humanity:

Drivers

Automation & AI;

Engineering advances & computation;

Energy supply & demand;

Raw material scarcity;

Clean water demand;

Critical infrastructure;

Impact

Education

Several universities in the Netherlands are already expanding their educational programs to include neuromorphic computing and engineering and deepen the fundamental knowledge to educate the next generation of leaders. Furthermore, thanks to its energy efficiency, neuromorphic computing has the potential to make AI-based innovations, such as personalised teaching bots, locally available in the classroom.

Research

In 2024, neuromorphic supercomputers made their debut in HPC (Spinnaker 2 # (Germany), Intel’s Halapoint # (US), DeepSouth (Australia), Darwin Monkey # (China)), thus reaching over one billion artificial neurons. The ability to understand which applications benefit most from which neuromorphic hardware is still largely open, with calls for extensive benchmarking. Moreover, current neuromorphic systems operate still far above the energy efficiency of the human brain, calling for foundational discoveries to compute as efficiently and functional as the human brain.

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