# Universal Computer A **Universal Computer** is a computer that can compute anything that can be computed. [Information can only be processed](Information%20Processing.md) in one way: by [Computation](Computation.md) of the kind invented by Babbage and Turing. There is only one mode of computation available to physical objects, and that is the Turing mode. When know that the computers that we already have are universal, in the sense that given the right program they can perform any transformation of information whatsoever - including [Knowledge](Knowledge.md) creation if only we knew how to implement it. The only things that can prevent this are lack of memory or lack of speed. Leaving off here: [Surviving The Cosmos, The Future of Artificial Intelligence. @DavidDeutschPhysicist @samharrisorg - YouTube](https://youtu.be/anRrR0XjFK0?t=2965) A universal computer, such as a Turing machine, can simulate any other computer, given the appropriate program and enough time and resources. There is no "super-computer" that can fundamentally compute things that a universal computer cannot, as long as both machine have enough time and resources. This concept of [Universality](Universality.md) means that while some computers might be faster or more efficient, no computer can solve problems outside the scope of a Turing machine. A universal computer is usually defined as an abstract machine that can mimic the computations of any other abstract machine in a certain well defined class. Computation is substrate independent. A universal computer doesn't care about _what_ it is made of. It is an abstract system and so long as it is physically instantiated in a substrate the approximates it, the actual substrate itself does not matter. --- Date: 20240912 Links to: [Fabric of Reality](Fabric%20of%20Reality.md) pg 98 Tags: References: * []()