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Heiner Linke, Professor of Nanophysics, Lund University

Biological computers could use far less energy than current technology – by working more slowly

The problem with hares... reysphoto/Shutterstock

Modern computers are a triumph of technology. A single computer chip contains billions of nanometre-scaled transistors that operate extremely reliably and at a rate of millions of operations per second.

However, this high speed and reliability comes at the cost of significant energy consumption: data centres and household IT appliances like computers and smartphones account for around 3% of global electricity demand, and the use of AI is likely to drive even more consumption.

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