Analog Processing

Some thoughts after watching the video We’re Building Computers Wrong by Veritasium. This channel has discussed the use of Analog machines for the computation of sun cycles, tides, and other single use instances. This video in particular shows a programmable analog computer that can be used to represent specific known formulas and how variability in any of the inputs changes the result and how analog can do this very quickly. The downsides of the inability to easily reproduce the exact same output and variability in production of individual parts is also mentioned. The problems inherent in analog computing seem to be overcome by using multiple sensors, matrix multiplication, and training of the correct results to dial in adjustments for each node so that the final output can be reliable. The calibration of the units is even discussed later where a standard gpu is used an example of what would be needed to calibrate a specialized analog chip the size of a CPU. The end calibration of an analog chip would be able to perform as quickly as the larger GPU albeit on more limited functions such as depth, voice recognition, or movement recognition for VR.It’s interesting to consider future computers that augment their processing with these analog chips that perhaps need one time or regular calculations. I could see this application in specialized authentication, Crypto Mining, or perhaps the back end of financial or spreadsheet software.I am also somewhat intrigued by the question of how this could relate to the development of our own brains. We know we need to sleep or else we can’t focus or remember as well. I can see these outputs as an inability to process the inputs correctly, or variability of an analog system shifting enough that it can no longer produce the same output reliability. Sleep could then be a part of a process that uses a more dormant calibration mechanism that the brain can make sure that it can reliably output the expected result.If nothing else these are interesting thoughts that I can use for developing stories on Artificial Intelligence or Science Fiction that integrates different forms of calculations whether it’s binary and analog or an analog that’s locked into more of a base 3 system instead of base 2 binary.