Week 2 Lecture: Brief History of Computing Posted by Sarah:):) , Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 4:46 AM, in

As I was unaware that I had to post two blogs a week, one for the tute and one for the lec, this is a little bit late but here it goes. Week 2's lecture was about a history of computing and the internet. The lecture enlightened us to how computers were created. This was interesting, as they play such a huge part in society nowadays and I personally, was not really aware of its origins. I think the part of the lecture that caught my attention the most was the rate of which computer technology grows. Moore's law states that the capacity of microchips double every year. Living with someone who studies Information Technology, I am constantly plagued with new facts about computer intelligence and how robots are inevitably going to take over the world. It's an interesting concept yes, but one that never really concerned me as I didn't see much evidence to suggest this. Since the acceleration of computer technology outlined in the lecture was so fascinating, I decided to do some further research and see if there was any credibility to the theory of a robot driven future. I watched Nextworld Future Intelligence from the Discovery Channel which documents the intelligence of computers and their rate of growth. They estimate that by 2050, the computer will have the processing power of 9 billion brains and will function as humans. Here is a screenshot from the documentary.

The documentary explores how computers will reach human level intelligence in 20-30 years and how they should be treated with the same courtesy as other carbon based intelligence. Especially when they start to look more and more human, as Professor Hiroshi Ishoguro from Osaka University demonstrates with his robot twin that even mimics his mannerisms.
The documentary goes on to explore many other types of technology that, to be honest, are quite frightening. It has definitely convinced me of the possibility that robots may take over the world.

Source: Nextworld Future Intelligence, 2009, television program, Discovery Channel, America, 12 August.