NAME: IBOR THANKGOD AKPAMA

DEPARTMENT: BIOCHEMISTRY

JAMB REG NUMBER:202210913233DA

DATE: 22NDJANUARY2024

COURSE CODE: GST100

ASSIGNMENT
TITLE: EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS

COURSE LECTURER
DR. NICHOLAS DIENAGHA
EvolutionofComputers:From1stto7thGeneration

Introduction:
Thedevelopmentofcomputershasbeenaremarkablejourneythat
spansseveralgenerations.Eachgenerationwitnessedsignificanta
dvancements,drivenbytheneedtoovercomethelimitationsandch
allengesofthepreviousgeneration.Thisessayexploreseachgenera
tionofcomputers,theproblemsthatledtotheirinvention,andthes
ubsequentproblemsthatemerged.

1stGeneration(1940s-1950s):
The1stgenerationcomputerswerebornoutoftheneedtosolveco
mplexmathematicalcalculationsduringWorldWarII.Theseearlyc
omputers,suchastheElectronicNumericalIntegratorandComput
er(ENIAC),weremassiveandreliedonvacuumtubestoprocessands
toredata.However,theysufferedfromseveralproblems.Theseincl
udedlimitedprocessingcapabilities,highenergyconsumption,fre
quenthardwarefailures,andalackofportability.

2ndGeneration(1950s-1960s):
The2ndgenerationcomputersemergedwiththeinventionofthetr
ansistor.Transistorsreplacedthebulkyandunreliablevacuumtube
s,leadingtosignificantimprovementsinprocessingspeed,reliabilit
y,andenergyefficiency.However,thesecomputerswerestillbulky,
expensive,andrequiredlarge-
scaleairconditioningsystemstopreventoverheating.Theywereals
olimitedintermsofmemoryandhadacomplexprogrammingstruct
ure.

3rdGeneration(1960s-1970s):
The3rdgenerationcomputersweredevelopedtoaddressthelimita
tionsofthepreviousgenerations.Theinventionoftheintegratedcir
cuit(IC)revolutionizedcomputing.ICsallowedmultipletransistorst
obeplacedonasinglechip,resultinginsmaller,faster,andmorerelia
blecomputers.Thesecomputersweremoreaffordableandconsum
edlesspower.However,theystillrequiredlargephysicalspaceands
pecializedcoolingsystems.

4thGeneration(1970s-1980s):
The4thgenerationcomputersweredrivenbytheneedforpersonal
computing.Theinventionofmicroprocessorsmarkedasignificantb
reakthrough.MicroprocessorscombinedtheCPU,memory,andot
hercomponentsintoasinglechip,makingcomputerssmaller,more
affordable,andaccessibletoawideraudience.Theintroductionofg
raphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs)andoperatingsystemssuchasMS-
DOSandAppleMacintoshfurtherenhancedusability.However,the
secomputerswerestillrelativelyexpensive,andsoftwarecompatib
ilityissueswereprevalent.

5thGeneration(1980s-1990s):
The5thgenerationcomputerswerecharacterizedbythedevelopm
entofparallelprocessingandartificialintelligence(AI).Thesecomp
utersaimedtomimichumanintelligence,enablingadvancedproble
m-
solvingcapabilities.However,thedevelopmentofAIprovedtobeac
omplexchallenge,ascreatingmachinesthatcouldtrulythinkandlea
rnlikehumansremainedelusive.Additionally,thecostofdevelopin
 gandimplementingAItechnologieswashigh.

6thGeneration(1990s-2000s):
The6thgenerationcomputersemergedwiththeadventoffasterpr
ocessors,increasedmemorycapacity,andtheinternet.Thesecomp
utersfacilitatedtherapidgrowthoftheinternet,leadingtotherevol
utionofinformationsharingandcommunication.However,concer
nsrelatingtodatasecurity,privacy,andthedigitaldividebecamesig
nificantchallenges.

7thGeneration(2000s-present):
The7thgenerationcomputers,alsoknownascognitivecomputers,
arebuiltonthefoundationofAIandmachinelearning.Thesecompu
tersaredesignedtounderstand,reason,andlearnfromvastamount
sofdata.Theyhavethepotentialtorevolutionizevariousfields,such
ashealthcare,finance,andtransportation.However,ethicalconcer
nssurroundingAI,suchasjobdisplacementandbiases,haveemerge
dassignificantchallenges.

Conclusion:
Theevolutionofcomputersfromthe1sttothe7thgenerationhasbeendrivenbythen
eedtoovercomethelimitationsofthepreviousgenerations.Eachgenerationbrough
t

significantadvancements,addressingtheproblemsofitstimebutalsopresentingne
wchallenges.Ascomputerscontinuetoevolve,itiscrucialtoensurethatthebenefits
oftechnologyarebalancedwithethicalconsiderationsandthewell-
beingofsocietyasawhole.