Zero-power photonic language model–code
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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.
HN · launched Nov 29, 2025 · 18 upvotes (top 33%) · 1 view
Niche: large language models · 191 launches, 4 in the last 7 days ▼ -33% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Hardware & robotics
- Developer
- AI-native
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 191 launches in large language models →
Could you build this?
No This project deals with novel research in neuromorphic photonics, physical optics simulations (Mach-Zehnder interferometer meshes, Reck architecture), and physical hardware implementations.
What it would actually take: Building this requires a physics simulation pipeline (using NumPy/PyTorch/JAX) modeling linear optics unitary transformations, complex Hilbert space operations, and Born-rule state collapse, alongside physical laser phase mask hardware prototyping. It requires a PhD-level background in optical computing, quantum/wave mechanics, and non-standard neural network architectures.
Discussion
7 comments analyzed.
Concerns raised: Unclear if detector can meaningfully read output from optical chain, Information loss between electronic and optical domain translation, Lacks real hardware implementation details and reliability validation, Unclear path to scaling beyond GPT-2 level complexity, How to implement non-linear activation functions without amplification
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 204 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #64 of 205 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 28 days after the earliest competitor.
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