Programming method of an activation function and an activation function programming unit

A computing device, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• memory storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
• receive a target activation function of a first artificial neural network for implementing in a neural processor circuit,
• execute a second artificial neural network to determine an approximation activation function that approximates the target activation function and is programmable into the neural processor circuit to implement the first artificial neural network, wherein the second artificial neural network is trained to determine one or more parameters of the approximation activation function to reduce an error with respect to the target activation function, and
• cause the approximation activation function to be programmed into the neural processor circuit to implement the first artificial neural network.