I would have to say the the machine hardware is probably so far from what we have now there is not current language for the actual components. I've always assumed nano-technology would be an AI second stroke, and in general the hardware would probably far more productive than anything we have ever seen. What I always wonder about is "alternate power sources". "there are level of survival we are prepared to accept" is this just a reserve and if so far and how much can run on it for how long.
Actually, I think I read somewhere, perhaps a transcript of the Animatrix or something, that we are the computer that generates the Matrix. That, not only do we supply the electrical and heat energy the Machines need, but through the parts of our brains that we don't yet use, the Machines use us to run the calculations necessary to run this realistic a simulation.
The human brain can calculate and assimilate data millions of times faster than the fastest computer on the planet. There are scientists that liken the human brain to a Pentium 60 at 160,000 tHz. Then, networked together, each brain working on different parts of the same problem, such processing would be virtually undetectable by us (except for a little more tiredness or slow-wittedness perhaps) and would be billions of times more powerful than one brain on its own. It would be easy for the toasters to tap into this super-computer.
Actually, I think I read somewhere, perhaps a transcript of the Animatrix or something, that we are the computer that generates the Matrix. That, not only do we supply the electrical and heat energy the Machines need, but through the parts of our brains that we don't yet use, the Machines use us to run the calculations necessary to run this realistic a simulation. The human brain can calculate and assimilate data millions of times faster than the fastest computer on the planet. There are scientists that liken the human brain to a Pentium 60 at 160,000 tHz. Then, networked together, each brain working on different parts of the same problem, such processing would be virtually undetectable by us (except for a little more tiredness or slow-wittedness perhaps) and would be billions of times more powerful than one brain on its own. It would be easy for the toasters to tap into this super-computer.
So basically, it's like an Open Source MMO?
Well, more like a peer2peer network. All of our human brains networked and slaved to a massive processor.
MetaLogic wrote: So basically, it's like an Open Source MMO? Well, more like a peer2peer network. All of our human brains networked and slaved to a massive processor.
But wouldn't that defy the fact of The Architect creating The Matrix?
No, he wrote the simulation. The Machines just use our brains, connected together in a vast "neural network" if you will, as the computer that runs it. Each brain does only a small part of the calculations, similar to the open/close circuit on one of today's processors. They keep it running at optimal efficiency, with each brain operating at 100% of possible capacity, without danger of 'crashes'.
So, imagine one tower of Battery City as one gigantic processor, harddrive, memory, graphics card, etc. And then imagine about 100 of them, linked together. More than enough computing power to run a simulation, even one as detailed and realistic as the Matrix.
This theory has some fantastic opportunities for stories. Such as: what if Autistic children were not really autistic at all? What if, in fact, they were so smart that the Machines tied their brains up with extra computations, giving the simulation a 'supernode' that can compute faster than normal ones, while also handicapping a mind that would easily see and understand the nature of the Matrix?
Just thinking 'out loud'.
MetaLogic wrote: Well, more like a peer2peer network. All of our human brains networked and slaved to a massive processor.
I think the term your looking for is a HA Cluster. Combined with some form of grid-based computing...
or taking the "neural network" idea a bit too far...
