The Monte Carlo Method and New Device and Architectural Techniques for Accelerating It
Keywords: Monte Carlo methods, Computer Architecture, Uncertainty Tracking, Graphene Field Effect Transistors, Analog computing
TL;DR: The paper discusses a framework for describing the Monte Carlo method and surveys recent advances in device and computer architecture techniques for accelerating and replacing it.
Abstract: Computing systems interacting with real-world processes must safely and reliably process uncertain data. The Monte Carlo method is a popular approach for computing with such uncertain values. This article introduces a framework for describing the Monte Carlo method and highlights two advances in the domain of physics-based non-uniform random variate generators (PPRVGs) to overcome common limitations of traditional Monte Carlo sampling. This article also highlights recent advances in architectural techniques that eliminate the need to use the Monte Carlo method by leveraging distributional microarchitectural state to natively compute on probability distributions. Unlike Monte Carlo methods, uncertainty-tracking processor architectures can be said to be convergence-oblivious.
Submission Number: 26
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