Related papers: Reprogramming Matter, Life, and Purpose
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) sponsored a workshop on "Robotic Materials" in Washington, DC, that was held from April 23-24, 2018. This workshop was the second in a series of interdisciplinary workshops aimed at transforming our…
Computation has changed the world more than any previous expressions of knowledge. In its particular algorithmic embodiment, it offers a perspective, within which the digital computer (one of many possible) exercises a role reminiscent of…
This article explores the evolving role of programming languages in the context of artificial intelligence. It highlights the need for programming languages to ensure human understanding while eliminating unnecessary implementation details…
Metazoans are capable of gathering information from their environments and respond in predictable ways. These computational tasks are achieved by means of more or less complex networks of neurons. Task performance must be reliable over an…
One key technical challenge in the age of autonomous machines is the programming of autonomous machines, which demands the synergy across multiple domains, including fundamental computer science, computer architecture, and robotics, and…
Programming is the activity of modifying a program in order to bring about specific changes in its behaviour. Yet programming language theory almost exclusively focuses on the meaning of programs. We motivate a "change-oriented" viewpoint…
Reversible computation requires that intermediate data be explicitly undone rather than discarded. In quantum programming, this principle appears as uncomputation, usually treated as a technical cleanup mechanism. We instead present…
Quantum computing promises to help humanity solve problems that would otherwise be intractable on classical computers. Unlike today's machines, quantum computers use a novel computing process that leverages the foundational quantum…
In living systems, we often see the emergence of the ingredients necessary for computation -- the capacity for information transmission, storage, and modification -- begging the question of how we may exploit or imitate such biological…
I am most honoured to have the privilege to present the Foreword to this fascinating and wonderfully varied collection of contributions, concerning the nature of computation and of its deep connection with the operation of those basic laws,…
Molecular biology is a nanotechnology that works--it has worked for billions of years and in an amazing variety of circumstances. At its core is a system for acquiring, processing and communicating information that is universal, from…
There is one, and only one way, consistent with fundamental physics, that the efficiency of general digital computation can continue increasing indefinitely, and that is to apply the principles of reversible computing. We need to begin…
Humanity has long sought inspiration from nature to innovate materials and devices. As science advances, nature-inspired materials are becoming part of our lives. Animate materials, characterized by their activity, adaptability, and…
Since its inception six decades ago, astrobiology has diversified immensely to encompass several scientific questions including the origin and evolution of Terran life, the organic chemical composition of extraterrestrial objects, and the…
Jim Shapiro synthesizes a great many observations about the mechanisms of evolution to reach the remarkable conclusion that large-scale modification, exchange, and rearrangement of the genome are common and should be viewed as fundamental…
We have evolved an IT system that is ubiquitous and pervasive and integrated into most aspects of our lives. Many of us are working on 4th and 5th level refinements in efficiency and functionality. But, we stand on the shoulders of those…
How the fundamental and purely quantum mechanical concept of space quantization and intrinsic spin led to totally unanticipated practical improvements to the Quality of Life such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, atomic clocks, etc. This is…
The question of whether artificial beings or machines could become self-aware or consciousness has been a philosophical question for centuries. The main problem is that self-awareness cannot be observed from an outside perspective and the…
Our planet is experiencing an accelerated process of change associated to a variety of anthropogenic phenomena. The future of this transformation is uncertain, but there is general agreement about its negative unfolding that might threaten…
Any agent that is part of the environment it interacts with and has versatile actuators (such as arms and fingers), will in principle have the ability to self-modify -- for example by changing its own source code. As we continue to create…