Computing Technology

Computing technology is the basis for all information interaction, but relatively speaking the technology itself has changed little since it's latest pulse of evolution in the mid-twenty first century. The end result is that there is very little difference between a recent computer and an older generation, at least in terms of hardware. Software, however, is a different matter and is constantly developing and being optomized.

Agroliths
Agroliths (a.k.a. "black boxes") are the very bottom end of computing power, and are responsible for being a back-up orbital computer and data recorder. Compared to media consumption, agroliths use practically no processing power, so agroliths are designed with consistency between models and near indestructibility in mind. Any old 3D printer can create an agrolith.

Superconducting Semiconductors
The introduction of superconducting semiconductors in the mid-2050's drastically altered the design of computers. By this time, most electronics had been liquid nitrogen cooled for two decades after it ceased to be practical to make smaller chipsets, but the introduction of superconductivity changed how chips were cooled. Computer chips were no longer "cooled" of the heat they produced, but "kept cool" so they produced no heat to speak of. This allowed for two things. First, processors could be stacked three dimentionally because there was no need for an interveining heat sink, and second, clock speeds could be run up into insanity, in excess of 450 terahertz. But after this advancement, little progress has been made to make processors faster so much as to improve their useful lifetimes.

Computer chips are no longer silicon wafers, but three dimentional "microblocks." Microblocks can be stacked on top of each other to form beowulf clusters, but few applications require that sort of power.

3D Printing
3D Printing is the basis for most medical and construction technology. Licenses for objects are purchased on the multinet, and then a 3D printer takes locally constructed materials--usually metals and plastics--and reconstructs the object. 3D printing allows for certain non-food and non-computing items to be reconstructed, with certain exceptions. Some 3D printers can reconstruct a relatively tasteless food ration, and all can reconstruct an agrolith.

3D printing allows assembly lines for almost anything to be set up almost anywhere, although realistically the limit for processed ores mean that it is of somewhat limited use. Many 3D printers also support recycling programs, where unwanted items can be deconstructed for resources.

AI's
Artificial Intelligences have been around since the late twenty first century, although most high level AI's are genetically engineered animals and not computers. Most computer devices support voice commands and pattern recognition, but this doesn't necessarily translate to sentient awareness and intelligence.

AI technology was once explored when computing technology became able to effectively recreate the human brain. Experimentation ended, however, with the conclusion that the processor speed cap meant that AIs were insignificantly different than humans. AI computers could struggle with math problems just like any human might.

This led to the development of organic AI's, which are genetically engineered animals to be better adapted for working with humans. Organic AI's are generally not as intelligent as humans (averaging around 90 with a max of 115, where humans average 125 and a max of 270) and often struggle with tool use, but most are capable of emulating the human voice well enough to speak proper English and give computers verbal commands.

Originally organic AI's were certain parots and lovebirds who were selectively bred to give them longevity and increase their comprehension of human language. Eventually, genetic engineering allowed for other species to become AI's, beginning with already intelligent animals such as killer whales and dolphins, then branching out with animals such as bears, wolves, and big cats, the later selections being able to speak in a human-like manner. Most enclosed biomes employ organic AI's as apex predators, serving as park rangers of sorts.

Raising organic AI's can be a tricky and complicated affair. The general rule is that if the final AI can speak, it will be raised by humans, and if it won't--such as a whale, it will be raised by it's biological family and given as much human interaction as possible. Often AIs have their development deliberately slowed so that they take a decade to reach maturity, rather than a single year. This is particularly important with big cat AI's who may grow to their fully adult form and be able to maul humans long before they can be properly acculturated to humans.