Why didn't I catch this earlier? PC World reported earlier this month that the US government believes it's a good idea to have a supercomputer take care of the largest known nuclear arsenal in the world. They have commissioned IBM to build a supercomputer that will be 15 times faster than the fastest computer today.

It's said that the new supercomputer, code named Sequoia (when's Toyota going to sue?) will be capable of performing at 20 petaflops as compared to today's fastest supercomputer at a mere 1.1 petaflops. It will still be developed on IBM's Blue Gene/Q platform, currently still in development. In the past, the Blue Gene series of supercomputers has been in the top five fastest computers in the world and with the last series being in the top six.

The plan is for Sequoia to handle the automation and monitoring of the nuclear stockpile's status and health. With the weapons nearing 15 years old, it's extremely important for the scientist to be able to say for certain that these missiles will indeed fly and detonate as intended when/if the time comes. When built, IBM expects this to be the fastest computer in the world. With an estimated size of a regulation tennis court, it will be housed at the Lawrence Livermore National Library in California.

IBM and the Department of Defense expects the Sequoia to be functional by 2012. Interestingly enough, IBM was one of five bidders for this contract and was chosen based on its lower costs and a better risk reduction plan.

The final decision processes will still be left up to humans as automation will only be implemented so far. But you can't help but think how much further behind is AI technology once something like this is in place. Of course the Sequoia is being used as a tool to aid scientists maintain this aging stockpile, and to calculate the necessary equations that determines the weapons effectiveness and safety. At the very least it's in California and the Governator is there to stop Skynet Sequoia.