Roughly 80 years ago many computers used analog logic, for example an amplifier with variable resistors could multiply and divide.
The matrix multiplication seems to be central in Transformer architecture.
I wonder if it would make sense to create a sort of Transformer on a vaguely similar concept?
If you wonder why this question, after all there are still guys who design digital computers with tubes or even mechanical relays, then why not analog Transformers?
https://hackaday.com/2023/12/05/a-single-board-computer-with-vacuum-tubes/
https://hackaday.io/project/189725-homebrew-16-bit-relay-computer
SaberTail•21h ago
There's a lot of research going on in this space though, because yeah, nature can solve certain mathematical problems more efficiently than digital systems.
There's a decent review article that came out recently: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09384-2 or https://arxiv.org/html/2406.03372v1