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In the worldwide race to build the next generation of the world's faster computers, the Japanese have been leading the world since 2002, when NEC announced the novel Earth Simulator supercomputer, running at 35.8 megaflops (35.8 trillion calculations per second), more than twice as powerful as anything that any American firm had to offer.
Today IBM announced that Blue Gene/L supercomputer can achieve a sustained rate of 36.01 megaflops.
IBM's supercomputer is not yet officially number one, however, since the performance results have to be confirmed by independent researchers. The official list of top supercomputers can be found on the web site http://www.top500.org. The list will next be updated in November.
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Although the development of a new supercomputer doesn't seem particularly relevant to most people, it actually affects everyone on earth in a very fundamental way. As we discussed in conjunction with the release of the movie I, Robot, it will be only a few years from now that supercomputers will be more intelligent than human beings.
By the 2020s, autonomous super-intelligent computers will be performing varied tasks, everything from repairing the plumbing to being a 24-hour nursemaid, to being an intelligent soldier. By 2030 or so, the "Singularity" will have occurred, and super-intelligent computers will be able to research and manufacture new versions of themselves, raising doubts about the continuing role of the human race.
As today's announcement by IBM shows, there is a worldwide race to
produce this new technology. Today, America and Japan are the
leaders, but the UK, China and India are also in the race. By the
2010s, there will be additional competitors.
(29-Sep-04)
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