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arXiv:2401.17408 · npj Unconventional Computing

Solving Boltzmann optimization problems with deep learning

Fiona Knoll, John T. Daly, Jess Meyer

Published Aug 5, 2024• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Decades of exponential scaling in high-performance computing (HPC) efficiency is coming to an end. Transistor-based logic in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology is approaching physical limits beyond which further miniaturization will be impossible. Future HPC efficiency gains will necessarily rely on new technologies and paradigms of computing. The Ising model shows particular promise as a future framework for highly energy-efficient computation. Ising systems are able to operate at energies approaching thermodynamic limits for energy consumption of computation. Ising systems can function as both logic and memory. Thus, they have the potential to significantly reduce energy costs inherent to CMOS computing by eliminating costly data movement. The challenge in creating Ising-based hardware is in optimizing useful circuits that produce correct results on fundamentally nondeterministic hardware. The contribution of this paper is a novel machine learning approach, a combination of deep neural networks and random forests, for efficiently solving optimization problems that minimize sources of error in the Ising model. In addition, we provide a process to express a Boltzmann probability optimization problem as a supervised machine learning problem.

DOI
10.1038/s44335-024-00005-1

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Abstract Decades of exponential scaling in high-performance computing (HPC) efficiency is coming to an end. Transistor-based logic in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology is approaching physical limits beyond which further miniaturization will be impossible. Future HPC efficiency gains will necessarily rely on new technologies and paradigms of computing. The Ising model shows particular promise as a future framework for highly energy-efficient computation. Ising systems are able to operate at energies approaching thermodynamic limits for energy consumption of computation. Ising systems can function as both logic and memory. Thus, they have the potential to significantly reduce energy costs inherent to CMOS computing by eliminating costly data movement. The challenge in creating Ising-based hardware is in optimizing useful circuits that produce correct results on fundamentally nondeterministic hardware. The contribution of this paper is a novel machine learning approach, a combination of deep neural networks and random forests, for efficiently solving optimization problems that minimize sources of error in the Ising model. In addition, we provide a process to express a Boltzmann probability optimization problem as a supervised machine learning problem.
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Use of AI/ML is associated with more and more computing power, which often necessitates the application to guzzle energy and take time to train. The paper presents a Quantum-Enhanced High-Performance Computing (Q-HPC) system that will combine traditional HPC units with quantum-assisted optimization to enhance the model training in addition to the predictive accuracy and energy efficiency. The framework that could be used to work with such large volumes of data is multi- GPU/CPU parallelization, and the optimization of parameters and hyperparameters can be implemented with the help of quantum-inspired algorithms. This will lead to a hybrid computation balancing dynamically the classical and quantum computations. Q-HPC was experimented with multiple AI/ML model types, such as convolutional networks, transformer models, graph neural networks and reinforcement learning agents, in which cases it was observed to traverse to the solution faster, more accurately and used less energy than the traditional HPC. It can also be said that the framework is dynamically adaptable and sustainable, i.e. it could be deployed to a massive diversifying range of tasks of AI/ML. The suggested model is a combination of the performance and scalability of the classical HPC with the optimization performance of quantum computing in order to create a new and valuable approach to the next generation AI. It deals with the issues of performance and environmental concerns of high-performance computing.