The Future of Supercomputing

Intelligent, Intuitive, Instinctive and Adaptable

The world’s most powerful supercomputer is awesome at playing chess. I guess that it’s pretty painfully obvious that we have bigger problems: Could we create complete models of super-viruses, and produce vaccines and cures in minutes? Could we make an interactive model of the Earth, and include every factor affecting global warming. Could we… create continent-sized energy networks, and exchanges, with a micro-macro philosophy. Could we have a fully accountable and individually auditable elections system? Wouldn’t that be an interesting world?

Maybe we could have all these things. So, how best anecdotally to describe the future of technology and computer software? I think this should do: The computers would have known that there were only seven candidates, not eight, in the Nevada Caucus. Not because they reasoned it, it’s not about reasoning; but because it is part of their experience, and their basic makeup. They learned it.

But, first we need application development systems that are developed from the ground up to be, well… all the things mentioned in the title – call it: “self-awareness.” Self-awareness is here in some small but phenomenal ways: your watch can tell you that you are about to have a heart attack. Or that you need to call your broker (or both, today). But, that’s mostly the cleverness of the programmer that you are seeing. In order to make intuitive and intelligent programs, you have to essentially start over: new hardware, new communications technology, new application development systems. New ideas.

Why write this? Because we are about to go over the cliff when it comes to leadership in technology, and if we want to have these amazing abilities in the future, and survive, without paying someone else for the pleasure; we have to change our educational systems, our corporate culture, and the objectives of our schools and universities, and add tremendously to the technical competence of our political leadership. My aunt, Jane, can’t even forward an email. Much to my chagrin, I have become acutely aware lately that the average level of technical competence among politicians is lower than Aunt Jane’s, lower even than Trump’s IQ. And politicians committedly resist modernization, holding everything progressive back. Perpetually. And universities too teach archaic skills on primitive systems.

We have available to us all these amazing technological wonders, but if we have them at all, we aren’t getting the full benefits from them. And the potential? Staggering! But, politicians dangle the benefits just out of our reach. We have the opportunity to live in a world of wonder, because the world is a reflection of us, and we are limitless in our potential. But, we endure endless arguments over coal; and we get “limited bandwidth.” The bandwidth of our brains is unlimited.

The future is ours!