Computing Nature: A Network of Networks of Concurrent Information Processes

TL;DR

This paper explores the field of natural and unconventional computing, emphasizing the universe as a computational system and discussing recent works from a symposium celebrating Turing's centenary.

Contribution

It provides an overview of natural computing as a network of processes within the universe, highlighting recent research and perspectives from a major symposium.

Findings

Natural computing views the universe as a computational system

Recent symposium showcased advances in unconventional computing

The computational universe concept is central to modern physical theories

Abstract

This text presents the research field of natural/unconventional computing as it appears in the book COMPUTING NATURE. The articles discussed consist a selection of works from the Symposium on Natural Computing at AISB-IACAP (British Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour and The International Association for Computing and Philosophy) World Congress 2012, held at the University of Birmingham, celebrating Turing centenary. The COMPUTING NATURE is about nature considered as the totality of physical existence, the universe. By physical we mean all phenomena, objects and processes, that are possible to detect either directly by our senses or via instruments. Historically, there have been many ways of describing the universe (cosmic egg, cosmic tree, theistic universe, mechanistic universe) while a particularly prominent contemporary approach is computational universe, as discussed in this article.