Fifth Generation Computer Systems: Difference between revisions

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{{Tone|date=February 2019}}

The '''Fifth Generation Computer Systems''' ('''FGCS'''; {{lang-langx|ja|第五世代コンピュータ|daigosedai konpyūta}}) was a 10-year initiative launched in 1982 by Japan's [[Ministry of International Trade and Industry]] (MITI) to develop computers based on [[massively parallel computing]] and [[logic programming]]. The project aimed to create an "epoch-making computer" with supercomputer-like performance and to establish a platform for future advancements in [[artificial intelligence]]. Although FGCS was ahead of its time, its ambitious goals ultimately led to commercial failure. However, on a theoretical level, the project significantly contributed to the development of [[concurrent logic programming]].

The term "fifth generation" was chosen to emphasize the system's advanced nature. In the [[history of computing hardware]], there had been four prior "generations" of computers: the first generation utilized [[vacuum tube]]s; the second, [[transistor]]s and [[diode]]s; the third, [[integrated circuit]]s; and the fourth, [[microprocessor]]s. While earlier generations focused on increasing the number of logic elements within a single CPU, it was widely believed at the time that the fifth generation would achieve enhanced performance through the use of massive numbers of CPUs.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

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== Background ==

In the late 1960s until the early 1970s, there was much talk about "generations" of computer hardware, then usually organized into three generations.

# First generation: Thermionic vacuum tubes. Mid-1940s. IBM pioneered the arrangement of vacuum tubes in pluggable modules. The [[IBM 650]] was a first-generation computer.

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In summary, the Fifth-Generation project was revolutionary, and accomplished some basic research that anticipated future research directions. Many papers and patents were published. MITI established a committee which assessed the performance of the FGCS Project as having made major contributions in computing, in particular eliminating bottlenecks in parallel processing software and the realization of intelligent

interactive processing based on large knowledge bases. However, the committee was strongly biased to justify the project, so this overstates the actual results.<ref name=Odagiri>{{Cite journal|last1=Odagiri|first1=Hiroyuki|last2=Nakamura|first2=Yoshiaki|last3=Shibuya|first3=Minorul|date=1997|title=Research consortia as a vehicle for basic research: The case of a fifth generation computer project in Japan|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048733397000085|journal=Research Policy|language=en|volume=26|issue=2|pages=191–207|doi=10.1016/S0048-7333(97)00008-5|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Many of the themes seen in the Fifth-Generation project are now being re-interpreted in current technologies, as the hardware limitations foreseen in the 1980s were finally reached in the 2000s. When [[clock speed]]s of CPUs began to move into the 3–5&nbsp;GHz range, [[CPU power dissipation]] and other problems became more important. The ability of [[Private industry |industry]] to produce ever-faster single CPU systems (linked to [[Moore's Law]] about the periodic doubling of transistor counts) began to be threatened.

In the early 21st century, many flavors of [[parallel computing]] began to proliferate, including [[multi-core]] architectures at the low-end and [[massively parallel|massively parallel processing]] at the high end. Ordinary consumer machines and [[game console]]s began to have parallel processors like the [[Intel Core]], [[AMD K10]], and [[Cell (microprocessor)|Cell]]. [[Graphics card]] companies like Nvidia and AMD began introducing large parallel systems like [[CUDA]] and [[OpenCL]].

It appears, however, that these new technologies do not cite FGCS research. It is not clear if FGCS was leveraged to facilitate these developments in any significant way. No significant impact of FGCS on the computing industry has been demonstrated.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

== References ==

{{reflist}}

* {{Cite book |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/C2009014415X |title=Fifth Generation Computer Systems |date=1982 |publisher=North Holland |isbn=978-0-444-86440-6 |editor-last=Moto-Oka |editor-first=Tohru |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1016/c2009-0-14415-x}}

* {{Cite book |last1=Feigenbaum |first1=Edward A. |title=The fifth generation: artificial intelligence and Japan's computer challenge to the world |last2=McCorduck |first2=Pamela |date=1987 |publisher=Addison Wesley |isbn=978-0-201-11519-2 |edition=4th pr |___location=Reading, Mass.}}

* {{Cite book |last=Bramer |first=M. A. (Max A. ) |url=https://archive.org/details/fifthgenerationa0000bram/ |title=The fifth generation : an annotated bibliography |date=1984 |publisher=Wokingham, England ; Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-201-14427-7}}

* [https://www.ueda.info.waseda.ac.jp/AITEC_ICOT_ARCHIVES/ICOT/Museum/FinalReport/final.html <nowiki>第五世代コンピュータ・プロジェクト 最終評価報告書 [Fifth Generation Computer Project Final Evaluation Report] (March 30, 1993)</nowiki>]

== External links ==

* [https://www.ueda.info.waseda.ac.jp/AITEC_ICOT_ARCHIVES/ICOT/HomePage.html FGCS Museum] - contains a large archive of nearly all of the output of the FGCS project, including technical reports, technical memoranda, hardware specifications, and software.

* [https://mindtested.com/questions/168098/which-electronic-components-were-used Details about 5th Generation Computer] - How the Computer System evolved.

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