One continuing trend in computer development is microminiaturization, the effort to compress more circuit elements into smaller and smaller chip space. Researchers are also trying to speed up circuitry functions through the use of superconductivity, the phenomenon of decreased electrical resistance observed in certain materials at very low temperatures.

The "fifth-generation" computer effort to develop computers that can solve complex problems in ways that might eventually merit the description "creative" is another trend in computer development, the ideal goal being true artificial intelligence. One path actively being explored is parallel-processing computing, which uses many chips to perform several different tasks at the same time. Parallel processing may eventually be able to duplicate to some degree the complex feedback, approximating, and assessing functions of human thought. One important parallel-processing approach is the neural network, which mimics the architecture of the nervous system. Another ongoing trend is the increase in computer networking, which now employs the worldwide data communications system of satellite and cable links to connect computers globally. There is also a great deal of research into the possibility of "optical" computers-hardware that processes not pulses of electricity but much faster pulses of light.