IB Digital Society 3.3D Evolution of Computing Key Definitions

Scrambling data using a key so that only someone with the correct key can read it, protecting the data both while it is stored and while it is being sent.

AI that produces new text, images, audio, or code by learning patterns from vast training data. It is a powerful form of narrow AI, not a general intelligence, despite how capable it can seem.

A single chip holding a computer's processing circuitry, whose invention made small, affordable personal computers possible.

The observation, made by Gordon Moore in 1965, that the number of transistors on a chip roughly doubles about every two years, driving rapid growth in computing power.

An emerging form of computing that uses quantum bits and the rules of quantum mechanics to tackle certain problems far faster than ordinary computers.

A quantum bit, the basic unit of a quantum computer, which can represent a mix of 0 and 1 at once rather than just a single value.

A tiny electronic switch that controls the flow of electricity; packing more of them onto a chip is what makes a computer more powerful.