Nowadays, artificial intelligence uses a significant amount of energy, and its consumption is expected to increase in the coming years. In the face of the climate change crisis, this is problematic. It is, therefore, necessary to find sustainable alternatives that allow us to both reduce energy expenditure and increase computational power. Unconventional computing architectures are excellent candidates for this task, as they can often operate with orders of magnitude less energy than traditional computing systems. Despite the wide variety of substrates that can be used in unconventional computing, it remains difficult to elucidate a programmable unconventional structure to date. Recently, it has been shown that there is a parallelism between certain chemical reactions and different types of abstract automata. In this study I propose the use of chemical automata networks (called “chemical circuits” in my research) in order to solve the programmability problem in unconventional computing. Our results provide information on the computational efficiency produced by the interconnection of the chemical reactions used as components, showing a clear preference for strong synergistic interactions in both the deterministic and stochastic cases.
Between grant deadlines, reviewer comments and lack of job opportunities, nowadays it is a challenge to stay motivated when doing research. For me passion is a very important factor when working long hours in the lab and with this discussion I intend to question the forum on how passionate they are about their research topics. While it is true that it is often necessary to make sacrifices in order to obtain funding, it is also true that senior researchers should promote the ideas of their students. Taking the above problem as inspiration, I will put on the table three strategies that from my perspective could be of great help to keep us motivated when doing research.
Ever experienced a lack of motivation while doing research? Motivation can be a powerful ally in handling the pressures of academia. Amaury J. L. Diaz (Binghamton University) discussed this in the last NetPLACE seminar.
Apart from being the keyboard behind Complexity Cat, Amahury researches chemical automata networks to tackle the programmability challenge in unconventional computing, aiming for greater energy efficiency than traditional systems.
We do not always work on projects that motivate us 100%, especially when constrained by a grant, a conservative supervisor, or time. We all have different experiences, and each case has its own solution.
There are some general strategies that can help keep motivation alive, such as finding a supervisor who allows you to work on your own project, attending conferences, starting collaborations, and being active in the scientific community.
