Do we have computer hardware sufficient for AI? This question is difficult to answer, but here’s a try:

One way to achieve AI is by simulating a human brain. A human brain has about 1015 synapses which operate at about 102 per second implying about 1017 bit ops per second.

A modern computer runs at 109 cycles/second and operates on 102 bits per cycle implying 1011 bits processed per second.

The gap here is only 6 orders of magnitude, which can be plausibly surpassed via cluster machines. For example, the BlueGene/L operates 105 nodes (one order of magnitude short). It’s peak recorded performance is about 0.5*1015 FLOPS which translates to about 1016 bit ops per second, which is nearly 1017.

There are many criticisms (both positive and negative) for this argument.

Simulation of a human brain might require substantially more detail. Perhaps an additional 102 is required per neuron. We may not need to simulate a human brain to achieve AI. There are certainly many examples where we have been able to design systems that work much better than evolved systems. The internet can be viewed as a supercluster with 109 or so CPUs, easily satisfying the computational requirements. Satisfying the computational requirement is not enough—bandwidth and latency requirements must also be satisfied.

These sorts of order-of-magnitude calculations appear sloppy, but they work out a remarkable number of times when tested elsewhere. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it work out here.

Even with sufficient harrdware, we are missing a vital ingredient: knowing how to do things.