After a career dedicated to creating evermore intelligent computer chips, he has turned his attention to what a computer, even quantum computers, may never be able to do: reach the potential of human conciousness. Quantum computers, which handle information radically different and theoretically much faster than today's mechanical, transistor-powered computers, have largely remained science fiction until recently when Lockheed Martin and University of Southern California researchers introduced their quantum computing center in California. Even so, Faggin believes computers, in their current and future quantum states, are the key that will unlock a true understanding of how human consciousness works.
Faggin spoke about his role designing the 4004 microprocessor, a single integrated chip conceived by Intel's Ted Hoff and Stan Mazur.. It was considered the world's first microprocessor when it hit the market in 1971, and for four decades Faggin has witnessed its immense impact on society.
The 4004, which was about the size of a small fingernail, delivered the same computing power as the ENIAC, the first electronic computer built in 1946 that filled an entire room.
Just as engines powered the industrial revolution, Faggin sees the microprocessor as the core element that continues to drive the information age.
"The engine extended the muscular power of human beings, thus enabling the industrial revolution," said Faggin. "The microprocessor extends the intellectual capacities, the brain power of human beings, thus extending the human reach into areas that an engine cannot."
Faggin says the microprocessor allowed the creation of thousands of different types of products, all powered by what he calls "a speck of intelligence." And these devices are now connecting with one another and connecting people through the Internet.
"I think [the] Internet represents the collection of all the power of this engine, and it's the defining capacity of microprocessors," said Faggin. "It connects people at a planetary scale. It connects things and provides flows of information, which are useful for communication, control and computation."
The future is sure to bring faster, cheaper, more power-efficient computers, says Faggin. However, even if quantum computers become a reality, which Faggin says could bring capabilities beyond today's mechanical versions, computers will not match the complex intelligence of human consciousness.
"I think that human intelligence, especially in the lower manifestations of it, will be aided tremendously by computers, but there are aspects of human capacities that we don't define as intelligence, which have to do with intuition, will, intention, imagination and creativity," he said.
Although logic is a term the computer industry uses when referring to central processing units, or microprocessors, Faggin says human consciousness entails more than logical thought processes and the ability to rationalize. The human brain, he contends, gives a person keen awareness of oneself and one's surroundings. It is motivated by powerful subconscious and emotional processes that work beneath or alongside logical thinking.