AI Computing Hardware – Past, Present, and Future

A special one-off episode with a deep dive into the past, present, and future of how computer hardware makes AI possible.

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In this episode:

 – Google and Mistral sign deals with AP and AFP, respectively, to deliver up-to-date news through their AI platforms. – ChatGPT introduces a tasks feature for reminders and to-dos, positioning itself more as a personal assistant. – Synthesia raises $180 million to enhance its AI video platform for generating videos of human avatars. – New U.S. guidelines restrict exporting AI chips to various countries, impacting Nvidia and other tech firms.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:08 Historical Recap: Early AI and Hardware

00:11:51 The Rise of GPUs and Deep Learning

00:15:39 Scaling Laws and the Evolution of AI Models

00:24:05 The Bitter Lesson and the Future of AI Compute

00:25:58 Moore’s Law and Huang’s Law

00:30:12 Memory and Logic in AI Hardware

00:34:53 Challenges in AI Hardware: The Memory Wall

00:37:08 The Role of GPUs in Modern AI

00:42:27 Fitting Neural Nets in GPUs

00:48:04 Batch Sizes and GPU Utilization

00:52:47 Parallelism in AI Models

00:55:53 Matrix Multiplications and GPUs

00:59:57 Understanding B200 and GB200

01:05:41 Data Center Hierarchy

01:13:42 High Bandwidth Memory (HBM)

01:16:45 Fabrication and Packaging

01:20:17 The Complexity of Semiconductor Fabrication

01:24:34 Understanding Process Nodes

01:28:26 The Art of Fabrication

01:33:17 The Role of Yield in Fabrication

01:35:47 The Photolithography Process

01:40:38 Deep Ultraviolet Lithography (DUV)

01:43:58 Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV)

01:51:46 Export Controls and Their Impact

01:54:22 The Rise of Custom AI Hardware

02:00:10 The Future of AI and Hardware