A view of Kanerva's sparse distributed memory

Pentti Kanerva is working on a new class of computers, which are called pattern computers. Pattern computers may close the gap between capabilities of biological organisms to recognize and act on patterns (visual, auditory, tactile, or olfactory) and capabilities of modern computers. Combinations of numeric, symbolic, and pattern computers may one day be capable of sustaining robots. The overview of the requirements for a pattern computer, a summary of Kanerva's Sparse Distributed Memory (SDM), and examples of tasks this computer can be expected to perform well are given

Virtual memory

Virtual memory was conceived as a way to automate overlaying of program segments. Modern computers have very large main memories, but need automatic solutions to the relocation and protection problems. Virtual memory serves this need as well and is thus useful in computers of all sizes. The history of the idea is traced, showing how it has become a widespread, little noticed feature of computers today

Will machines ever think

Artificial Intelligence research has come under fire for failing to fulfill its promises. A growing number of AI researchers are reexamining the bases of AI research and are challenging the assumption that intelligent behavior can be fully explained as manipulation of symbols by algorithms. Three recent books -- Mind over Machine (H. Dreyfus and S. Dreyfus), Understanding Computers and Cognition (T. Winograd and F. Flores), and Brains, Behavior, and Robots (J. Albus) -- explore alternatives and open the door to new architectures that may be able to learn skills

First 3 years of operation of RIACS (Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science) (1983-1985)

The focus of the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) is to explore matches between advanced computing architectures and the processes of scientific research. An architecture evaluation of the MIT static dataflow machine, specification of a graphical language for expressing distributed computations, and specification of an expert system for aiding in grid generation for two-dimensional flow problems was initiated. Research projects for 1984 and 1985 are summarized

Is random access memory random?

Most software is contructed on the assumption that the programs and data are stored in random access memory (RAM). Physical limitations on the relative speeds of processor and memory elements lead to a variety of memory organizations that match processor addressing rate with memory service rate. These include interleaved and cached memory. A very high fraction of a processor's address requests can be satified from the cache without reference to the main memory. The cache requests information from main memory in blocks that can be transferred at the full memory speed. Programmers who organize algorithms for locality can realize the highest performance from these computers

Telling Miller’s Tale: A Reply to David Yassky

A recent article by Professor David Yassky suggests that there is a segment of legal academia that dissents from the Standard model and has started to generate alternatives to the Standard Model. Denning and Reynolds critique that part of Yassky\u27s theory dismissing United States v. Miller as providing the basis for an individual rights interpretation of the Second Amendment

Notes on implementation of sparsely distributed memory

The Sparsely Distributed Memory (SDM) developed by Kanerva is an unconventional memory design with very interesting and desirable properties. The memory works in a manner that is closely related to modern theories of human memory. The SDM model is discussed in terms of its implementation in hardware. Two appendices discuss the unconventional approaches of the SDM: Appendix A treats a resistive circuit for fast, parallel address decoding; and Appendix B treats a systolic array for high throughput read and write operations

The Five Stages of Law Review Submission

Our article is a humorous look at the law review submissions process from the author’s perspective. It suggests that the process of submitting to law reviews tracks Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s “five stages of grief.

The Case Against Appointing Politicians to the Supreme Court

Ben Barton’s recent paper concludes that the members of the current Court are more “cloistered and detached” than at any other point in the Court’s history. His findings are bound to renew calls for the appointment of politicians to the Court; but I argue that remedying the perceived deficit of life experience and “practical wisdom” by appointing persons currently or formerly active in partisan politics would likely not deliver the claimed benefits and might affirmatively harm the Court as an institution