Future of Computing: Learning-Based, Energy-Efficient and Brain-Inspired

Figure 1: A spiking neural network learns to play the Atari game Pong. Computer science is at a turning point. Novel Machine Learning (ML) methods are revolutionizing how we think about computation and build computers. ML is believed to provide a path to artificial intelligence. Current ML systems however are energy hungry, which renders them unsuitable for edge applications and contributes to environmental problems. Hence, in the forthcoming transformation, energy-efficiency will play a major role, in which respect there is a lot to learn from the brain. Computers are like empty boxes.