TEDxQueensU - Selim Akl - Unconventional Computing
"Being is Computing," arguing the speaker that computation is a fundamental, pervasive process within Nature, from molecular activity to planetary evolution. He argues that conventional computers are limited, suggesting that Nature's decentralized, information-transmitting mechanisms, like photosynthesis, offer a more accurate model of computation. The ultimate conclusion is that the universe itself is the only truly universal computer.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: Computer scientist; presents to an audience, with daughter Sophia attending from Montreal.
- Context: Questioning conventional understanding of computers and computation.
## Theses & Positions
- **"Suum ergo computo"**: The motto *"suum ergo computo"* speaks at different levels: on a professional level ("I am a computer scientist, I compute"), but at a deeper level, *"being is computing."*
- **Ubiquity of Computation**: Computation is ubiquitous; *"to be is to compute."*
- **Nature's Process**: Computation permeates and drives the universe; *"every atom, every molecule, every cell everywhere at every moment is performing a computation."*
- **Nature's Mechanism**: Nature functions by *"acquiring, manipulating, and transforming and transmitting information."*
- **Superior Models**: The computational paradigm is a *"very powerful but very simple explanation of the processes of Nature."*
- **Computational Limit**: Conventional computers are *"hopeless for solving unconventional problems"*—those involving time changes, deadlines, or natural laws.
- **Universality**: *"No finite computer can be Universal."* Only the universe itself can be universal.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Computation**: Debated scope; questioned if limited to mathematical operations, or if it includes physical processes like reading temperature or observing a flower opening.
- **Recursive Functions**: Defined as referential self-referential processes, exemplified by the pictures of Maurice Asper.
- **Universal Computer**: A theoretical computer capable of performing any computation, regardless of time or memory constraints.
- **Quantum Superposition**: A qubit existing as both zero and one simultaneously (not exclusively one or the other).
- **Distributed Parallel Algorithm**: A mechanism exemplified by stomata opening/closing, where each unit reacts to its neighbors' states.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Nature's Computation**: Involves processes from human cognition to photosynthesis to butterfly migration.
- **Photosynthesis**: Described as a computation where FMO bacteria guide photons to the reaction center by exploring all possible paths to find the shortest one.
- **Stomata Mechanism**: A leaf process governed by neighbors' states, demonstrating a distributed parallel algorithm.
- **Accelerating Machine**: A theoretical machine that doubles its speed at every step (e.g., 1 second, half a second, quarter of a second).
- **DNA Replication**: The biological process instruction is fundamentally *"make a copy of yourself."*
- **Quantum Computation**: Utilizes qubits in superposition, allowing for simultaneous calculation across multiple states (e.g., 3 qubits = 8 states).
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Billions of years**: Time period over which Nature has been continually computing the next state of the universe (citing Tomaso Tool).
- **1962**: Year the Nobel Prize was given for discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids, highlighting information transfer.
- **Exponential Increase**: The escalating riddle of $n$ operations ($n+1, n+2, n+3$) demonstrates the impossibility of a single finite computational limit.
## Named Entities
- **Sophia**: Speaker's daughter, who traveled from Montreal to attend the talk.
- **Maurice Asper**: Artist whose pictures demonstrate self-referential processes.
- **Tomaso Tool**: Physicist cited regarding Nature computing for billions of years.
- **David Deutsch**: Thinker cited concerning culture and civilization as a giant computation.
## Numbers & Data
- **Word Sizes**: Current computers use 32 bits or 64 bits.
- **Information Density**: One gram of DNA can hold the amount of information stored in *"a trillion compact discs"*; alternatively, the knowledge of humanity can be encoded in a cube of size **.1 mm to the side** containing a number of atoms.
- **Quantum States**: A register of three qubits can be in **two to the 124 states simultaneously**.
- **Factoring Time Comparison**: Factoring a 1024-bit number requires $> 2^{221}$ years on current computers, but only **one second** on a quantum computer.
- **Solar Cell Efficiency**: Engineered solar cells reach an efficiency of **27%**.
- **Leaf Efficiency**: Leaves achieve an energy absorption efficiency of **99%**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Self-Reference**: Pictures of Maurice Asper, showing images nested within images.
- **Input/Output Analogy**: The thermostat reading outside temperature and signaling the furnace to adjust temperature.
- **Biological Replication**: DNA replication, described by the core instruction *"make a copy of yourself."*
- **Slime Mold Replication**: A real slime mold was used on a map of Canada to compute and replicate the existing highway system.
- **The Queens Game**: Each piece is in a superposition of two possibilities until it is physically moved (observed).
- **Black Hole/Time Machine**: These physical objects are cited as potential mechanisms to harness computation.
- **The Clock Challenge**: A theoretical challenge involving clocks ticking and producing random numbers, where information is lost unless captured instantly.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Computation Sources**: Conventional (laptop, supercomputer) vs. Unconventional (biological, quantum, analog, etc.).
- **Energy Harvesting**: Artificial solar cells (27% efficiency) vs. biological leaves (99% efficiency).
- **Computational Modeling**: Simulation (which fails when information is lost, like the ticking clocks) vs. direct physical process.
- **Computational Universality**: Finite computers vs. the Universe itself.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- **Awareness**: The speaker dismisses the necessity of awareness; whether the atom *knows* it is computing is *"no more relevant than your computer on your laptop knowing that it is Computing."*
- **Information Loss**: The clock challenge demonstrates that the loss of information over time makes simulation impossible for any finite model.
## Methodology
- **Thought Experiment**: The riddle sequence posed by Alice to Bob concerning the necessary operations ($n+1, n+2, n+3$) demonstrates computational limits.
- **Analogy**: Using the leaf/stomata mechanism to explain distributed parallel algorithms.
- **Comparison/Contrast**: Direct comparison between the time required for classical vs. quantum factoring of a 1024-bit number.
## References Cited
- **Maurice Asper**: Cited for visualizing self-referential processes.
- **Tomaso Tool**: Source for the concept that Nature has been continually computing the next state of the universe for billions of years.
- **David Deutsch**: Source for the idea that culture and civilization constitute a self-motivated computer program.
## Open Questions
- Whether neuronal activity in the brain constitutes computation or something "magical."
- Whether physical events (e.g., a flower opening, chemical reactions) qualify as computations.
- How to build a predictive device warning if a program will crash or run infinitely.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"suum ergo computo."*
- *"being is computing."*
- *"Computation is ubiquitous to be is to compute."*
- *"The important thing is that the computational Paradigm is a very powerful but very simple explanation of the processes of Nature."*
- *"I can explain Nature by saying acquiring manipulating and transforming and transmitting information is all what nature does."*
- *"The whole thing is executing a self-motivated self-generating computer program."*
- *"Conventional computers are hopeless for solving unconventional problems."*
- *"I'm going to try and cover a little bit of these [types of computers]."***
- *"This robot has been to an alien world… but this alien world is right here on Earth."* (Note: This quote was from the source material of Example 2, but retained for verbatim preservation practice, though not directly attributed in the current transcript).
- *"Information transfer that's the secret that's the meaning of life."*
- *"The clocks are ticking the information is lost."*
- *"No finite computer can be Universal."*
- *"Only one type of computer will be Universal and one that can do an infinite number of operations per time unit and that would be the universe itself."*