The recent rapid progress in modern microelectronic technology that enabled implementation of a complete complex information processing system on a single chip or in a single package created new important opportunities, but also new serious difficulties. These difficulties mainly result from the huge and rapidly growing silicon and system complexity, and from the remarkable and growing role of the information technology systems. An adequate solution of these new problems can only be achieved through development and application of new more suitable system and design paradigms, methods and means. This paper aims at a brief analysis of the current situation, future trends and problems in the field of the modern microelectronic-based systems, and a proposal and discussion of a new system paradigm of the life-inspired systems.