RAG and RL tool calls put CPUs back in ML training

Stas Bekman observes that RAG retrieval and RL tool calls are shifting ML training workloads, making CPUs a bottleneck again beyond their traditional DataLoader role, and his updated ml-engineering guide suggests dedicated CPU nodes may be needed.

2026-10-01 ~ 2026-10-01 · 3 related posts

• RAG and RL tool calling are bringing CPUs back into ML training, possibly needing dedicated CPU nodes — StasBekman · 2026-10-01
• RAG and RL tool calling are quietly driving CPU demand back into ML training — TheZachMueller · 2026-10-01
• RAG and RL tool calling are pushing CPUs back into ML training resource math — StasBekman · 2026-10-01