1st IBM’s Watson takes down our best. Now we have flexible silicon chips. Next Skynet takes over

The researchers from IMEC have created a cheap (potentially 1/10th the cost of silicon chips), bendable microprocessor by layering a plastic substrate, gold circuits, organic dielectric, and a pentacene organic semiconductor to create an 8-bit logic circuit with 4000 transistors.

Executing 6 instructions per second, these things won’t be challenging Watson any time soon, but the chips should prove useful in creating cheaper flexible displays and sensors. They overcoame individual organic transistors’ variable switching voltage thresholds — as opposed to silicon’s predictable nature — that eliminated the possibility of organic-based logic circuits previously. But by adding a second gate to each transistor, IMEC was able to control the electrical field in each to prevent unwanted switching and usher in the dawn of plastic processors.  I see these things one day becoming Data from Star Trek. Mark my words people. Skynet and Data. It’s on its way.