Cutting Edge intro: maths versus machine

Many banks have turned to fancy chips to boost computing speed, but there is a mathematical technique that claims better results at a lower cost. Its proponents see it as a way out of the IT rat race, and are finding new ways to deploy it. Nazneen Sherif introduces this month’s technical articles

Four years on from the article that first popularised it, adjoint algorithmic differentiation (AAD) has not changed the world, but its growing fanbase believes it could (Risk March 2010). Instead of investing in ever-more-specialised hardware to deliver much-needed increases in computational speed, AAD gets users to the same place via a mathematical technique – and adherents say the breadth of its potential applications is becoming clearer.

"AAD is not only a math trick to turbocharge your