Connection Machine at ZKM

Join us this Friday and Saturday (March 27–28) at ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien for the conference “Visionäre KI: Das vergessene Erbe der Connection Machine.” After more than a year of dedicated engineering, coordination, and reconstruction efforts, it is exciting to see a remarkable piece of computing history being brought back to life.

The original #ConnectionMachine was the first commercial #supercomputer based on a massively parallel architecture and played an important role in shaping both modern high-performance computing and #AI systems. Over the past year, Philipp Lepold and I engineered #replica LED matrices true to the original as well as the accompanying software, reviving not only a technical artifact, but also the ideas and questions that shaped early thinking about parallel computation and AI.

The conference brings together an inspiring group of researchers, designers, and pioneers, including W. Daniel Hillis, Brewster Kahle, Lew Tucker, Thomas Haigh, Heiner Igel, Johannes Schemmel, Tamiko Thiel, and many others. It is rare to have such a diverse set of perspectives, from original developers to contemporary researchers, engaging in a shared dialogue on the legacy and relevance of the Connection Machine today.

This initiative would not have been possible without the many people and institutions involved in realizing and supporting both the reconstruction and the event. A big thank you to everyone who contributed their expertise, resources, and commitment to make this happen.

Join us either live at ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (it’s free 😉) or online. You can find the program info and the link to the livestream here:

🔗https://lnkd.in/deZeSc5u

#TECO #ConnectionMachine #AI #HPC #HistoryOfComputing #ZKM #ResearchCommunity