Two very interesting reports on the future of computing were issued last week.  A December 16th entry in this blog discussed “Designing a Digital Future:  Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and Information Technology,” issued by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).  (More about the PCAST report in a New York Times story here.) But another report from the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board’s (CSTB) Committee on Sustaining Growth in Computing Performance — “The Future of Computing Performance:  Game Over or Next Level?” — details the technical challenges that we will face in providing the computing horsepower to support the digital future described by PCAST.

A few interesting news stories in the past week: What is “Watson”? Word came on Tuesday that “Watson,” an IBM supercomputer system, will take on Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter — the two most successful players in “Jeopardy” history — on three episodes of the show slated for broadcast Feb. 14-16, 2011. As we’ve previously highlighted in this space, the New York Times Magazine profiled “Watson” this past summer.  In that article, the Times Magazine provided a step-by-step account of the AI/machine learning challenges and advances underlying the development of the advanced “question answering” machine. Now, in the man v. man v. machine challenge scheduled to air early next year, […]

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) this afternoon released a report — “Designing a Digital Future:  Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and Information Technology” — about the status and direction of the government’s 14-agency, $4.3 billion Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program.  The report emphasizes the critical role of advances in networking and information technology (NIT) to the nation’s economic competitiveness — and calls upon the nation to “continue to innovate more rapidly and creatively than other countries in important areas of NIT” in order to sustain and improve overall quality of life.

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on Wednesday released a report on health information technology titled “Realizing the Full Potential of Health Information Technology to Improve Healthcare for Americans:  The Path Forward.”  The report “calls for adoption of a universal exchange language to mobilize data, improve healthcare, enhance privacy, and cut costs.”  Meantime, PCAST yesterday announced that a Congressionally-mandated biennial review of the NITRD program will be released next Thursday afternoon. During Wednesday’s health IT report roll-out at the Department of Health and Human Services, PCAST co-chair Eric Lander said, “The United States spends more on healthcare as a fraction of gross domestic product than any other […]

CNN’s John Sutton has written a really great article describing sensor networks — and how they’re radically altering the way older patients lead their lives.  John describes how sensor networks — installed in mattresses or on doors, refrigerators, etc. — are being used to monitor motion and vital signs, and to look for breaks in people’s normal routines.  And these networks are linked to the Internet, so they can alert friends, family members, and doctors anytime something seems awry. It’s a terrific exposé about how far we’ve come in an area of health IT research… The sensors know when Charlton Hall Jr. wakes up to go to the bathroom. They know […]

To Facebook message or to e-mail? Facebook message. At least that was the conclusion of a report from Nielsen Online published earlier this year, which found that, through 2008, people spent more time on social networking websites than they did in their e-mail accounts.  While the revelation wasn’t too surprising, it was an important milestone in the history of the Internet.  Add to that a Sheraton Hotels survey this week, which reported that 60% of us use social media — not cell phones or e-mail — to communicate with loved ones when we’re traveling, and it’s clear that the Facebooks and Twitters of the world are here to stay. In light […]