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