
Numerical and Experimental Results of a multicolor optical generative model for colorful van gogh-style artwork generation, Compared Against the Teacher Digital Defusion Model with 1,000 steps. Credit: Nature (2025). Doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09446-5
From Creating Art and Writing Code to Drafting Emails and Designing New Drugs, Generative Ai Tools Are BOCCEMING Increasing Increashly Indispanable for Both Business and Personal Use. As Demand Increases, they will require even even more computing power, memory and therefore, energy. That’s Got Scientists Looking for Ways to Reduce his energy consumption.
In a paper Published in the journey NatureAydogan ozcan, from the university of california los angeles, and his colleagues describe the development of an ai image generator that consumers almost no power.
AI Image Generators Use A Process Called Diffusion to Generate Images from Text. First, they are trained on a large dataset of images and reepeatedly add a statistical noise, a kind of digital static, until the image has disapped.
Then, when you give ai a prompt such as “Create an image of a house,” It starts with a screen full of static and then resivers the process, gradually removing the noise UNTIL the Image If you want to perform large-scale tasks, Such as Creating Hundreds of Millions of Images, this process is slow and energy intensity.

Experimental Demonstration of Snapshot Optical Generative Models. Credit: Nature (2025). Doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09446-5
A light-based approach
The new Diffusion-Based Image Generator works by first using a digital encoder (that has been trained on publicly available datasets) to create the static that will ultimately make the picture. This requires a small amount of energy. Then, a liquid crystal screen know as a spatial light modulator (SLM) Imprints this pattern onto a laser beam. The beam is then passed through a second decoding Slm, which turns the pattern in the laser into the final image.
Unlike Conventional AI, which relays on Millions of Computer Calculations, this process uses light to do all the heart lifting. Consequently, the system uses almost no power. “Our optical generative models can synthesize country images with almost no computing power, offering a scalable and energy-efficient alternative to digital ai models,” SAID DIODELS, ” Author.
The researchers tested their system on various images used to train ai models, include of celebrities and butterflies, as well as full-color pictures in the style of dutch Paint Paint Van Gogh.
The results were comparable to that of conventional image generators, but weed with much less life. This breakthrough has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of ai-generated content significantly.
The Technology also also find itd its way into a variety of applications. BeCause the system is so fast and requires minimal energy, it would be used for things like creating images and videos for virtual and augmented reality displays, or for smartphone or Wearable Electronics, Such as AI Glasses.
Written for you by author Paul arnoldEdited by Sadie harleyAnd Fact-CHACKED and Reviewed by Robert egan—This article is the result of careful human work. We relay on readers like you to keep independent science counalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You’ll Get an ad-free Account as a Thank-You.
More information:
Shiqi Chen et al, Optical Generative Models, Nature (2025). Doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09446-5
Daniel Brunner, Machine-Learning Model Generates Images Using Light, Nature (2025). Doi: 10.1038/d41586-025-02523-9
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