What is the main benefit of kernel fusion?

The main benefit of kernel fusion lies in its ability to improve performance by combining operations. In computational contexts, especially in machine learning and deep learning, operations such as matrix multiplications and activation functions can often be performed more efficiently when they are fused together into a single operation. This is due to the reduction in overhead associated with executing separate operations, such as memory access and context switching. By fusing kernels, we decrease the number of passes through memory and optimize resource use, which can lead to faster execution times and reduced energy consumption.

Additionally, kernel fusion can help to exploit parallel processing capabilities of hardware more effectively, as fused kernels can make better use of available computational resources, leading to enhanced overall throughput during training and inference phases.

The other options, while important aspects in different contexts, do not directly pertain to the technical advantages that kernel fusion offers in terms of performance optimization.