Realizing the full potential of next-generation deep learning requires highly efficient AI infrastructure. For a computing platform to be scalable and cost efficient, optimizing every layer of the AI stack, from algorithms to hardware, is essential. Advances in narrow-precision AI data formats and associated optimized algorithms have been pivotal to this journey, allowing the industry to transition from traditional 32-bit floating point precision to presently only 8 bits of precision (i.e. OCP FP8).

Narrower formats allow silicon to execute more efficient AI calculations per clock cycle, which accelerates model training and inference times. AI models take up less space, which means they require fewer data fetches from memory, and can run with better performance and efficiency. Additionally, fewer bit transfers reduces data movement over the interconnect, which can enhance application performance or cut network costs.

Intel has published a highly involved and extensive whitepaper on the topic of streamlining its CPU architectures, most notably by focusing on a purely 64-bit specification, and consequently dropping legacy 32-bit operating modes (as well as 16-bit!). Team Blue's key proposal states: "This whitepaper details the architectural enhancements and modifications that Intel is currently investigating for a 64-bit mode-only architecture referred to as x86S (for simplification). Intel is publishing this paper to solicit feedback from the ecosystem while exploring the benefits of extending the ISA transition to a 64-bit mode-only solution."

The paper provides a bit of background context: "Since its introduction over 20 years ago, the Intel 64 architecture became the dominant operating mode. As an example of this evolution, Microsoft stopped shipping the 32-bit version of their Windows 11 operating system. Intel firmware no longer supports non UEFI64 operating systems natively. 64-bit operating systems are the de facto standard today. They retain the ability to run 32-bit applications but have stopped supporting 16-bit applications natively. With this evolution, Intel believes there are opportunities for simplification in our hardware and software ecosystem."