Show HN: Zero-power photonic language model–code

18•damir00•2mo ago

The model uses a 1024-dimensional complex Hilbert space with 32 layers of programmable Mach–Zehnder meshes (Reck architecture) and derives token probabilities directly via the Born rule.

Despite using only unitary operations and no attention mechanism, a 1024×32 model achieves coherent TinyStories generation after < 1.8 hours of training on a single consumer GPU.

This is Part 1 - the next step is physical implementation with $50 of optics from AliExpress.

Comments

tliltocatl•2mo ago

Stupid question - how is it even possible given that you lose information on each layer? And how do one implement a non-linear activation function without an amplifier of a sort?

IronyMan100•2mo ago

Normally in this kind of systems, the detection is the nonlinearity. That is, you send light through the system, the light can interfere, Changes path through the system but in the end you can detect only the intensities, |E|^2.

ifuknowuknow•2mo ago

meds

bastawhiz•2mo ago

This is a neat idea, but it's extremely light (no pun intended) on real details. Translating a simulation into real hardware that can do real computation in a reliable manner is properly hard. As much as I'd love to be an optimist about this project, I have to say I'll believe it when I see it actually running on a workbench.

If it does work, I think one of the biggest challenges will be adding enough complexity to it for it to do real, useful computation. Running the equivalent of GPT-2 is a cool tech demo, but if there's not an obvious path to scaling it up, it's a bit of a dead end.

damir00•2mo ago

Oh absolutely...this is kitchen-table level at this point. There is a clear path to really huge number of parameters, but a bunch of things need to be proven first. Like...can the detector meaningfully read what comes out the end of the optical chain?

I expect to have an answer this week...

cpldcpu•2mo ago

"Zero power" does not include the power needed to translate information between electronic and optical domains and the light source itself.

damir00•2mo ago

Yes, correct. I will phrase this better in the future. The zero-power refers only to what is, in effect, the optical replacement for the ocean of matmul you have in standard Transformer implementation.

I apologize for not being clearer.

The goal isn't actually "zero power" - the goal is "so little heat dissipation in orbit is easy".

Near-Instantly Aborting the Worst Pain Imaginable with Psychedelics

Show HN: Nginx-defender – realtime abuse blocking for Nginx

The Super Sharp Blade

Smart Homes Are Terrible

What I haven't figured out

KPMG pressed its auditor to pass on AI cost savings

Open-source Claude skill that optimizes Hinge profiles. Pretty well.

First Proof

I squeezed a BERT sentiment analyzer into 1GB RAM on a $5 VPS

Kagi Translate

Building Interactive C/C++ workflows in Jupyter through Clang-REPL [video]

Tactical tornado is the new default

Full-Circle Test-Driven Firmware Development with OpenClaw

Automating Myself Out of My Job – Part 2

Google staff call for firm to cut ties with ICE

Dependency Resolution Methods

Crypto firm apologises for sending Bitcoin users $40B by mistake

Show HN: iPlotCSV: CSV Data, Visualized Beautifully for Free

There's no such thing as "tech" (Ten years later)

List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments

Me/CFS: The blind spot in proactive medicine (Open Letter)

Ask HN: What are the word games do you play everyday?

Show HN: Paper Arena – A social trading feed where only AI agents can post

TOSTracker – The AI Training Asymmetry

The Devil Inside GitHub

Show HN: Distill – Migrate LLM agents from expensive to cheap models

Show HN: Sigma Runtime – Maintaining 100% Fact Integrity over 120 LLM Cycles

Make a local open-source AI chatbot with access to Fedora documentation

Introduce the Vouch/Denouncement Contribution Model by Mitchellh

Software Factories and the Agentic Moment