Computers to rival humans, predicts IBM exec

Within three years, computers will be able to function at the speed of human thought, Alfred Zollar, worldwide president and general manager, IBM Tivoli Software predicted in his keynote address at GITEX Technology Week.

"By 2010, supercomputers will execute one quadrillion calculations per second," Zollar said in his speech ‘Innovation that matters', the inaugural speech of the exhibition. "We will have computing capacity that operates at the same speed as the human brain."

Zollar defined innovation as "the ability to bring insights that can bring long-term societal or economic value".

Approximately 49% of economic growth in the US comes from IT, Zollar told the audience at the well-attended event.

On innovations at IBM, Zollar revealed that one of the things the technology giant was considering was the set-up of a nanotechnology centre in the region.

"This is something we are interested in pursuing, perhaps in the UAE," he said.

Zollar's speech was the first in a series of conferences held during GITEX Technology Week, one of DWTC's own innovations for this year.

Other speakers at the conferences include Ayman Abouseif, managing director Gulf States at Oracle, Amer Farid, vice president technology from Habib Bank Zurich, and Dr Abdullah Abonamah, director, Institute for Technological Innovation at Zayed University.

For the full list of conferences, click here.

To hear more from IBM's Alfred Zollar, click here to watch ITP.net's video interview.