AI Revolution Through Laser Chips Possible

We know VSCSEL lasers from facial recognition on mobile phones and from fiber optic telecommunications, where they serve as light sources. Scientists at TU Berlin and MIT Boston have now developed a laser chip based on this technology, which is said to be 100 times more energy-efficient and 25 times faster than the best current processors. By overclocking the lasers, these values could even be increased by up to another 100 times. The transistors of the best current chips have the problem that, for thermodynamic reasons, they cannot switch arbitrarily fast and energy-efficiently at the same time. With their VSCSEL technology adapted for AI, the researchers have solved this problem by replacing electrons with light particles (photons).

When asked what AI would be capable of with this latest laser chip technology, ChatGPT lists a whole range of fascinating possibilities. Here is a condensed selection:

• Emotional Intelligence: AI could develop advanced emotion recognition capabilities to better understand human emotions and respond empathetically. This would be extremely useful in applications such as customer service, healthcare, and therapy.
• Self-Learning Capabilities: Without technical limitations, AI could develop the ability to continuously and autonomously learn and improve itself. This would mean that AI systems could constantly update their skills and knowledge to keep pace with changing demands and developments.
• Creativity and Innovation: Advanced AI could be capable of handling complex creative tasks in fields such as art, music, design, and science. AI systems could generate creative ideas and solutions that equal or even surpass human capabilities.
• Ethics and Morality: AI systems could develop advanced ethical and moral understanding capabilities to analyze difficult ethical dilemmas and make informed recommendations and decisions.

Of course, the application of AI also carries risks. At a summit of countless nations in England last Friday, country representatives signed a protocol. This represents a kind of declaration of consent for the responsible use of AI, which aims to limit criminal use, loss of data security, job losses, and other negative consequences. Even China has signed.

Regardless of how individual companies or countries use the expanded possibilities of AI, the commodities for this will almost certainly be needed more than ever. The prospects for indium and gallium in particular should therefore be bright, especially as the new VSCSEL chips are also to be used in cell phones. Anyone who buys these strategic commodities now is therefore not only investing in AI, but possibly also in the next iPhone and perhaps even the one after that.