The United States government's Strategic Computing Initiative funded research into advanced computer hardware and artificial intelligence from 1983 to 1993. The initiative was designed to support various projects that were required to develop machine intelligence in a prescribed ten-year time frame, from chip design and manufacture, computer architecture to artificial intelligence software. The Department of Defense spent a total of 1billionontheproject.TheinspirationfortheprogramwasJapan′sfifthgenerationcomputerproject,anenormousinitiativethatsetasidebillionsforresearchintocomputingandartificialintelligence.AswithSputnikin1957,theAmericangovernmentsawtheJapaneseprojectasachallengetoitstechnologicaldominance.TheBritishgovernmentalsofundedaprogramoftheirownaroundthesametime,knownasAlvey,andaconsortiumofU.S.companiesfundedanothersimilarproject,theMicroelectronicsandComputerTechnologyCorporation.ThegoalofSCI,andothercontemporaryprojects,wasnothinglessthanfullmachineintelligence."ThemachineenvisionedbySC",accordingtoAlexRolandandPhilipShiman,"wouldruntenbillioninstructionspersecondtosee,hear,speak,andthinklikeahuman.Thedegreeofintegrationrequiredwouldrivalthatachievedbythehumanbrain,themostcomplexinstrumentknowntoman."Theinitiativewasconceivedasanintegratedprogram,similartotheApollomoonprogram,wheredifferentsubsystemswouldbecreatedbyvariouscompaniesandacademicprojectsandeventuallybroughttogetherintoasingleintegratedsystem.RolandandShimanwrotethat"Whilemostresearchprogramsentailtacticsorstrategy,SCboastedgrandstrategy,amasterplanforanentirecampaign."TheprojectwasfundedbytheDefenseAdvancedResearchProjectsAgencyanddirectedbytheInformationProcessingTechnologyOffice(IPTO).By1985ithadspent100 million, and 92 projects were underway at 60 institutions: half in industry, half in universities and government labs.
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