quanta-magazine 11 months ago

How AI Discovered a Faster Matrix Multiplication Algorithm

Researchers at Google research lab DeepMind trained an AI system called AlphaTensor to find new, faster algorithms to tackle an age-old math problem: matrix multiplication. Advances in matrix multiplication could lead to breakthroughs in physics, engineering and computer science.

AlphaTensor quickly rediscovered - and surpassed, for some cases - the reigning algorithm discovered by German mathematician Volker Strassen in 1969.


However, mathematicians soon took inspiration from the results of the game-playing neural network to make advances of their own.


00:00 | What is matrix multiplication?

01:06 | The standard algorithm for multiplying matrices

02:06 | Strassen's faster algorithm for faster matrix multiplication methods

03:55 | DeepMind AlphaGo beats a human

04:28 | DeepMind uses AI system AlphaTensor to search for new algorithms

05:18 | A computer helps prove the four color theorem

06:17 | What is a tensor?

07:16 | Tensor decomposition explained

08:48 | AlphaTensor discovers new and faster faster matrix multiplication algorithms

11:09 | Mathematician Manuel Kauers improves on AlphaTensor's results


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