The future of computing technology

Abstract

Summary form only as given. By 2000, one can reasonably expect that a Giga PC capable of a billion operations per second with a billion bits of memory, and billion bit network bandwidth will be available for under $2000. Barring the creation of a cartel, or some yet unforeseen technological barrier, one should see a TeraPC before 2015 and a PetaPC before 2030. The question is what will we do with all this power? How will it affect the way we live and work? Many things will hardly change. Our social systems, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and our mating rituals will hardly be affected. Others, such as the way we learn, the way we work and interact with each other should undergo profound changes. This paper provides one point of view on these topics.