The Fifth Generation Computer

Our society greatly depends on technology. The advancement of technology also parallels the
development of our society. For over 50 years, there are four generations of computer made. Rapid
changes are happening over the course of those four generations and the most common trends are an
increase in speed and a decrease in size. The first generation of computer are the really big and it can take
up a whole room. They use vacuum tubes for circuitry and it has a magnetic core memory. The storage
uses tape and punched cards. An example of this type of computer is the Universal Automatic Computer
(UNIVAC) which is the first computer built for business. The replacement of vacuum tubes to transistors
paved the way for the second generation of computer. Using transistors instead of vacuum tubes has many
advantages since transistors are smaller, faster and more reliable. Its storage uses removable disk pack
and magnetic tape. Also, the programming language used was assembly language which allows
programmers to specify instructions into words. The third generation uses an integrated circuit. The
transistors were smaller and placed on a silicon chip which greatly increases the speed of the computer.
These computers were mass produced and inexpensive. The fourth generation computer uses a
microprocessor in which thousands of integrated circuit were placed onto one chip. The fourth generation
computer has an explosive growth since it can be used in calculators, digital watches, personal computers
and many more. Also, this generation ushered in the age of the Internet.
Presently, the fifth generation computer which is based on artificial intelligence is being developed
although some of its components are being used today such as voice recognition. To make this artificial
intelligence a reality, parallel processing is being used. Parallel processing is the ability to carry out
multiple operations simultaneously. In computers, it makes the programs run faster due to the fact that
more CPUs or processor cores running it. The fifth generation computers are intended to respond to
natural language. This means that humans can communicate with computers in the language that they use
in a daily basis. Similar to all sci-fi movies, the computer will be able to recognize images and graphs and
process it logically. Ultimately, the goal of the fifth generation computer is to respond to natural language
and is capable of learning and self-organization
REFERENCE:
Mishra, D. (2010). Five generation computers. Latest technology. Retrieved from
http://latesttechnomanias.blogspot.com/2010/06/fifth-generation-computers.html on 17 July 2014.
Webopedia. (2014). The five generations of computers. Webopedia. Retrieved from
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/FiveGenerations.asp on 17 July 2014.