When we read a car’s license plate, we tend to focus on the numbers and letters, paying little attention to the surrounding buildings or sky. An artificial-intelligence (AI) system, however, may still process those surrounding details, consuming energy even when they contribute little to the task. As cameras capture ever more detailed images, this unnecessary processing wastes more energy—a growing problem for electronics with limited power, such as battery-powered security cameras, drones and other edge devices.When we read a car’s license plate, we tend to focus on the numbers and letters, paying little attention to the surrounding buildings or sky. An artificial-intelligence (AI) system, however, may still process those surrounding details, consuming energy even when they contribute little to the task. As cameras capture ever more detailed images, this unnecessary processing wastes more energy—a growing problem for electronics with limited power, such as battery-powered security cameras, drones and other edge devices.Hardware[#item_full_content]