Time Out of Mind

Asynchronous designs, described in the two-part tutorial in this issue of IEEE Design & Test, is a methodology which has never caught on as well as it should. But I think it is going to, and in an unexpected way. Asynchronous methods for neuromorphic computing are mentioned briefly in the tutorial. Modeling the brain, an initiative already begun, is going to become very important. There are major benefits to the health field in understanding how the brain works, which might lead to the cures of many currently difficult or impossible to cure diseases. A brain simulator can allow experiments which are unethical and impossible on humans. And some argue that the first artificial intelligence will be brought up on a brain simulator and not by using traditional AI methods.