WICI Talk - Energy Efficient AI
From WatCamp (KW Tech Calendar)
Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
RCH 209, Roy Coutts Hall, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON
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About the event
Energy-Efficient AI: Why brains use much less power than AI, and how this might help us improve current AI Brains are incredibly energy-efficient, with each connection using thousands to millions of times less energy than a connection weight a modern Large Language Model running on GPUs. This talk looks at why this is the case, focusing on how brains differ from traditional digital hardware. Furthermore, we look at how modern understanding of how brains represent Time and Space (Grid Cells and Time Cells) has led to new AI algorithms that improve efficiency. However, to fully take advantage of these improvements, we also need to rethink how we design computer hardware, leading to more "neuromorphic" approaches. About the Speaker Terry Stewart Associate Research Officer, Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of Waterloo Terry Stewart is currently an NRC Canada Associate Research Officer and adjunct professor with the Dept of Psychology at the University of Waterloo. He is a former member of the Computational Neuroscience Research group at the University of Waterloo working with Chris Eliasmith on the development of Spaun and the Nengo software.
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