RE: software progress (RE: Hardware Progress: $319/GF)

From: Ben Goertzel (ben@goertzel.org)
Date: Wed Sep 04 2002 - 22:57:34 MDT


> Anyway the conversation reminded me of something that you guys on
> this list
> should know about... an advanced approach to CPU design which is not being
> followed up by the hardware industry at all, but really should be. VERY
> cool stuff... based on applying the TimeWarp algorithm from discrete event
> simulation theory, on the chip level...
>
> http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/timewarp/wengine/papers/hipc97/hipc97.html

As an exercise in mind expansion, try this. Read about the TimeWarp
algorithm, and then try to imagine the psychology of an mind that used it!

Basically, in the TimeWarp approach, computing is kept reversible, by
(within each computing component) keeping information about previous states
even when a new state is moved to. Computing is then done aggressively,
with new computations being done *before* the information needed to support
them is there, based on "best guesses". Then, if the guesses proved wrong,
time is "rolled back" and the computation is done again with the correct
information. There are some strong theorems showing why this is an optimal
approach under pretty loose assumptions.

It's sort of loosely like the backtracking algorithm in AI, but *massively
parallel*...

Imagine if each portion of your mind/brain could think speculatively, based
on the speculative thoughts of other portions, etc. -- and then roll back to
previous states precisely, as determined appropriate.

The rollback would feel cool, huh?? ;-)

ben g



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