【译文】
在过去的20年里，计算机的运算速度有了令人印象深刻的提升，网络吞吐量和英特网的速度。这些好处为一些领域的革命铺设好了道路，就像分配物理，人工智能和纳米技术。这些好处对我们的生活和工作会产生深远的影响。我们在电影当中看到的虚拟现实，就像《矩阵》，可能会在将来的几十年里真正成为现实。
纳米技术
科学界正在尝试去使用纳米技术制造非常精密的芯片，电导体和逻辑门。使用纳米技术，芯片一次可以被组装成一个原子，而且从此将不会有空间的浪费，使制造很小的设备成为可能。使用这项技术，逻辑门可以由几个原子和电导体组成（叫做纳米电线）会仅仅只有一个原子那么薄，而且一个位的数据可以以电子的形式表现为存在和不存在。
纳米计算是由纳米技术构成的，它会催生出四种形式的纳米计算机。
1.电子的纳米计算机
2.化学的和生物化学的纳米计算机
3.机械的纳米计算机
4.量子纳米计算机
电子纳米计算机：
电子纳米计算机是用纳米技术通过显微电路制造出来的
化学的和生物化学的纳米计算机：
在这种计算机中，不同的化学元素之间的反映和它们的结构背用来去存储和运算信息。为了创造一种基于化学的纳米计算机，工程师需要能够控制原子个体和分子，所以这些原子和分子可以被做成去表现可控的计算和数据存储的任务。
机械的纳米计算机：
一个机械的纳米计算机使用的微型移动组件叫做纳米齿轮去编码信息。一些科学家预测，诸如此类的纳米计算机会被用在控制纳米机器人上。
量子纳米计算机：
一个分配的纳米计算机将数据以原子额量直序或旋转存储。单电子记忆芯片（SEM）和额两点是这种类型计算机的例子。
人类化纳米计算机：
除了这个，科学家们意指使用纳米技术去制造纳米机器人，它会可以编写出像抗体那样服务于人类的机器人。这会帮助保护人类抵御致病的血液和病毒的感染。那就可以保持在救济方法不可使用时对变异病毒抵御的出色表现。纳米机器人会通过重新选择性地编程以摧毁新的病原体来克服这个困难。
纳米计算机的喷射：
考虑一下那项在Ediburgh University的关于创建“喷射的计算机，谷物和沙粒的大小”研究已经在被完成了，它会传递技术的信息。这项研究的团队致力在未来的四年内，取得这个研究的成功。
当这些纳米计算机被喷射冠心病人的胸口，非常小的单元会记录一个病人的健康状况，并且将这些信息传达回一个医院的计算机。这会使医生观察在家疗养的心脏病人成为可能。
量子计算机：
一个量子计算机使用量子的机械现象，就像“纠缠”和“叠态”去运算数据。量子计算致力于去使用碎木料的分配式的属性去表现和构造数据。量子力学被使用在去了解如何去表现这些数据的运算。原子或原子核的的量子力学的属性允许这些部分工作在一起就像量子的比特或者分量一样。这些分量会工作在一起成为计算机的处理器和内存。分量可以在分离的外部环境当中会相互影响。还有，这使他们表现确定的计算比普通的计算机更加快速成为可能。通过同时计算很多不同的数据然后合并结果形成单个的答案。一台量子计算机较同样大小的数字计算机来说，可以并行地进行很多计算，提供更强大的动力。
“在原子内部很小的空间当中，普通现实中的规则不再起作用。藐视所有的常识，一个单独的部分可以同时存在于不同的两个地方。所以，当一个一台普通的计算机可以开和关，表现为1或0，一个量子转换可以自相矛盾地同时存在于这两种状态，1和0。。。在其中说谎的是能量。”然而三个普通的开关可以保存8中模式中的任何一个，三个量子转变可以一次保存所有的8个，来自“一个时间的捷径”。
量子计算机对于运行量子力学仿真，可以被证明是有用的。这会使物理、化学、材料科学、纳米技术、生物和医药领域受益。应为在当前，这些淋雨的前进被限制在了慢速的量子力学仿真当中。
量子计算对于一些像密码技术、建模、对很大的数据库建索引等的任务是理想化的。很多征募和军方资金中介正支持量子计算研究去发明量子计算机为平民和和国家安全所用，比如密码分析。
人工智能：
“人工智能”这个命题是在1956年由JohnMcCarthy在MIT首次问世的。它是一个计算机科学的分支，主要目的是让电脑像人类那样表现。
人工智能包括通过计算机程序设计去建立真实生活中的决策的解决方案。（比如一些“专家系统”帮助内科医生根据症状诊断疾病）编程让计算机理解人类的语言（自然语言），编程让电脑能够玩游戏（玩游戏），想下 国际象棋和西洋棋，编程让电脑能听到、看到、感受到一些其它的刺激（机器人）还有设计系统模仿人类的智力通过尝试重新产生在人类大脑中神经细胞物理连接的类型（神经网络）。自然语言数据处理可以允许普通的没有编程语言知识的人去与电脑交流。
那么计算机技术的未来在这几项技术发展之后会怎样？
通过纳米技术，计算机设备逐渐的变小，变得更强大。每天带有嵌入式技术和和连通性的设备正在变成显示。纳米技术促成了越来越多的更小更快的计算机可以被嵌入小型设备，这促成了一个想法：致力于整合软件和硬件到人造的和自然的产品当中去渗透计算。它被预测几乎所有的东西，就像衣服、工具、电器、车、房子、咖啡杯和人体会嵌入这些芯片，那将会连接设备到其它设备一个无限的网络中。【普通计算】
因此，在未来的网络技术会结合无线运算，语音识别，英特网能力和人工智能来致力于去创建一个设备间嵌入式连接的环境。这种环境以某种方式使连接是合适的，非表面上的，是高可用的。通过这种方式，计算机技术会渗透我们生活的各个方面。那就像曾经的虚拟现实会变成人类的现实，在计算机技术的未来里。
【原文】
Tech Tip 104 - The Future of Computer Technology
By Chris Herzog
Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006
In the past twenty years, there has been a dramatic increase in the processing speed of computers, network capacity and the speed of the internet. These advances have paved the way for the revolution of fields such as quantum physics, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. These advances will have a profound effect on the way we live and work, the virtual reality we see in movies like the Matrix, may actually come true in the next decade or so.
NANOCOMPUTERS
Scientists are trying to use nanotechnology to make very tiny chips, electrical conductors and logic gates. Using nanotechnology, chips can be built up one atom at a time and hence there would be no wastage of space, enabling much smaller devices to be built. Using this technology, logic gates will be composed of just a few atoms and electrical conductors (called nanowires) will be merely an atom thick and a data bit will be represented by the presence or absence of an electron.
A component of nanotechnology, nanocomputing will give rise to four types of nanocomputers:
• Electronic nanocomputers
• Chemical and Biochemical nanocomputers
• Mechanical nanocomputers
• Quantum nanocomputers
Electronic nanocomputers
Eletronic nanocomputers are created through microscopic circuits using nanolithography. [Nanocomputers]
Chemical and Biochemical nanocomputers
The interaction between different chemicals and their structures is used to store and process information in chemical nanocomputers. In order to create a chemical nanocomputer, engineers need to be able to control individual atoms and molecules so that these atoms and molecules can be made to perform controllable calculations and data storage tasks.
Mechanical nanocomputers
A mechanical nanocomputer uses tiny mobile components called nanogears to encode information. Some scientists predict that such mechanical nanocomputers will be used to control nanorobots.
Quantum nanocomputers
A quantum nanocomputer store data in the form of atomic quantum states or spin. Single-electron memory (SEM) and quantum dots are examples of this type of technology.
Humanizing Nanocomputers
Apart from this, scientists aim to use nanotechnology to create nanorobots that will serve as antibodies that can be programmed. This will help to protect humans against pathogenic bacteria and viruses that keep mutating rendering many remedies ineffective against new strains. Nanorobots would overcome this problem by reprogramming selectively to destroy the new pathogens. Nanorobots are predicted to be part of the future of human medicine.
• SPRAY-ON NANO COMPUTERS
Consider that research is being done at the Ediburgh University to create "spray-on computers the size of a grain of sand” that will transform information technology. The research team aims to achieve this goal within four years.
When these nanocomputers are sprayed on to the chests of coronary patients, the tiny cells record a patient’s health and transmit information back to a hospital computer. This would enable doctors to monitor heart patients who are living at home.
QUANTUM COMPUTERS
A quantum computer uses quantum mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition to process data. Quantum computation aims to use the quantum properties of particles to represent and structure data. Quantum mechanics is used to understand how to perform operations with this data. The quantum mechanical properties of atoms or nuclei allow these particles to work together as quantum bits, or qubits. These qubits work together to form the computer's processor and memory. Qubits can interact with each other while being isolated from the external environment and this enables them to perform certain calculations much faster than conventional computers.
By computing many different numbers simultaneously and then interfering the results to get a single answer, a quantum computer can perform a large number of operations in parallel and ends up being much more powerful than a digital computer of the same size.
"In the tiny spaces inside atoms, the ordinary rules of reality ... no longer hold. Defying all common sense, a single particle can be in two places at the same time. And so, while a switch in a conventional computer can be either on or off, representing 1 or 0, a quantum switch can paradoxically be in both states at the same time, saying 1 and 0.... Therein lies the source of the power." Whereas three ordinary switches could store any one of eight patterns, three quantum switches can hold all eight at once, taking "a shortcut through time." [Scientific America.com]
Quantum computers could prove to be useful for running simulations of quantum mechanics. This would benefit the fields of physics, chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, biology and medicine because currently, advancement in these fields is limited by the slow speed of quantum mechanical simulations.
Quantum computing is ideal for tasks such as cryptography, modeling and indexing very large databases. Many government and military funding agencies are supporting quantum computing research to develop quantum computers for civilian and national security purposes, such as cryptanalysis.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The term “Artificial Intelligence” was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a branch of computer science that aims to make computers behave like humans. [Artificial Intelligence] Artificial Intelligence includes programming computers to make decisions in real life situations (e.g. some of these “expert systems” help physicians in the diagnosis of diseases based on symptoms), programming computers to understand human languages (natural language), programming computers to play games such as chess and checkers (games playing), programming computers to hear, see and react to other sensory stimuli(robotics) and designing systems that mimic human intelligence by attempting to reproduce the types of physical connections between neurones in the human brain (neural networks).
Natural-language processing would allow ordinary people who don’t have any knowledge of programming languages to interact with computers.
So what does the future of computer technology look like after these developments?
Through nanotechnology, computing devices are becoming progressively smaller and more powerful. Everyday devices with embedded technology and connectivity are becoming a reality. Nanotechnology has led to the creation of increasingly smaller and faster computers that can be embedded into small devices.
This has led to the idea of pervasive computing which aims to integrate software and hardware into all man made and some natural products. It is predicted that almost any items such as clothing, tools, appliances, cars, homes, coffee mugs and the human body will be imbedded with chips that will connect the device to an infinite network of other devices. [Pervasive Computing]
Hence, in the future network technologies will be combined with wireless computing, voice recognition, Internet capability and artificial intelligence with an aim to create an environment where the connectivity of devices is embedded in such a way that the connectivity is not inconvenient or outwardly visible and is always available. In this way, computer technology will saturate almost every facet of our life. What seems like virtual reality at the moment will become the human reality in the future of computer technology.