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NSCI Seminar: Supercomputers and Superintelligence

**This talk has been canceled.**

In recent years the idea of emerging superintelligence has been discussed widely by popular media, and many experts voiced grave warnings about its possible consequences. This talk will use an analysis of progress in supercomputer performance to examine the gap between current technology and reaching the capabilities of the human brain. In spite of good progress in high performance computing (HPC) and techniques such as machine learning, this gap is still very large. I will then explore two related topics through a discussion of recent examples: what can we learn from the brain and apply to HPC, e.g., through recent efforts in neuromorphic computing? And how much progress have we made in modeling brain function? The talk will be concluded with my perspective on the true dangers of superintelligence, and on our ability to ever build self-aware or sentient computers.

Sponsors

NSCI Committee

 

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (Gaithersburg, Bldg. 221, Room B145)

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Boulder, VTC in 1-1107)

 

Horst D. Simon
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Outside attendees need to contact Barry Schneider in order to obtain the site badges required to enter NIST grounds and to attend the seminar. 24 hour notice is required for US citizens and 3 days for non-US citizens. Please contact bis [at] nist.gov (bis[at]nist[dot]gov) to be added to the visitor list. Visitors must check in at the NIST Visitor Center to pick up their badges. A photo ID is required for US citizens and a passport or green card for foreign nationals. There is also the possibility of viewing the seminar as a webcast. Again, please contact Barry Schneider for details preferably by email.

Created February 9, 2017, Updated May 4, 2017