A computing machine capable of performing multiple operations using a universal
computing unit is provided. The universal computing unit maps an input signal to
an output signal. The mapping is initiated using an instruction that includes the
input signal, a weight matrix, and an activation function. Using the instruction,
the universal computing unit may perform multiple operations using the same hardware
configuration. The computation that is performed by the universal computing unit
is determined by the weight matrix and activation function used. Accordingly, the
universal computing unit does not require any programming to perform a type of
computing operation because the type of operation is determined by the parameters
of the instruction, specifically, the weight matrix and the activation function.