A lot of ‘science’ that is shallow can be done by a LLM today, & whilst it was not deep, it can help train students to think. The mistake here is be excited about shallow results that an AI can clearly do that takes training away from students.
Lee Cronin
@leecronin.bsky.social
Regius Professor. Scientist, Chemist, Inventor, CEO of Chemify. Fascinated & in a state of confusion & optimism. Trying to digitize chemistry & make alien life.
#ALIFE2026 Day 3 keynote speaker Lee Cronin discusses chemputation and the chemical possibility spaces
Exploring chemical space with Assembly Theory. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
The UKs zero 2050 makes no sense. If we go more fossil, drop energy prizes, & aim at innovation we will make a way greater impact on the human race through innovation rather than conservation. Energy & climate empathy is lazy thinking. We need to innovate.
The UKs zero 2050 makes no sense. If we go more fossil, drop energy prizes, & aim at innovation we will make a way greater impact on the human race through innovation rather than conservation. Energy & climate empathy is lazy thinking. We need to innovate.
Can assembly theory & assembly equation be used to measure selection in real experiments? arxiv.org/abs/2512.18752
Quantifying the Emergence of Selection Prior to Biological Evolution
Selection is central to biological evolution, yet there has been no general experimental framework for quantifying selection in chemical systems before life. Here we demonstrate that selection in a pr...
arxiv.org
Policing words is the same as policing thoughts. An open society should have no limits on words. Words are the meta space where ideas need to be formed and compete. If you prevent ideas you don’t like then you harm the future of the human race & usher in tyranny.
Here is Quantum Chemputation conceptually. Go from the physical properties you want to a possible molecular graph, but then apply the rules of synthetic chemistry to ensure it is Chemputatable and therefore makable.
Causation requires matter. But causal matter requires evolution.
Digital chemistry won’t just happen by bolting a chatbot to a liquid handling robot. It needs a fundamental new approach to allow the programming of matter, or chemputation. The theory & practical implementation is outlined here: arxiv.org/abs/2408.09171
Chemputer and Chemputation -- A Universal Chemical Compound Synthesis Machine
Chemputation reframes synthesis as the programmable execution of reaction code on a universally re-configurable hardware graph. Here we prove that a chemputer equipped with a finite, but extensible, s...
arxiv.org
Chemputation will lead to an exponential growth of the number of molecules synthetically accessible. It transcends the limits of manual labor by using a Turing-like ontology for error correction to ensure we can go deeper into chemical space. arxiv.org/abs/2408.09171
AI is showing us that creativity sits in an entirely different category to data retrieval.
Now in 2025, Chemify is opening the worlds first Chemifarm, which is the first commercial facility for chemputation able to do chemical design, discovery, & manufacture on demand. www.chemifyx.com
Making digital chemistry truly universal for chemputation (digital control of chemsitry) required a new approach to hardware, wetware, & software with the development of XDL. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Now the theory showing universality is done. arxiv.org/abs/2408.09171
In 2012 I had a dream of universal digital chemistry for chemputation inspired by 3D printing technology. By 2016 we made a key advance. We went from a vision to a universal code for organic synthesis - in this case making Ibuprofen in a hacked 3D printer. www.beilstein-journals.org/bjoc/article...
This helps redefine what a molecule is & that blows my mind. arxiv.org/abs/2408.09171
Chemputer and Chemputation - A Universal Chemical Compound Synthesis Machine
Chemputation, the execution of code controlled reaction pathways on universally reconfigurable hardware, offers a route to treating chemical synthesis as a formally computable i.e. chemputable process...
arxiv.org
Want to know why Chemputation redefines the very concept of what a molecule is? Updated preprint arxiv.org/abs/2408.09171
Well we know what molecules are according to the text books, but do we know what Molecules are according the theory of Chemputation…this is coming soon (Molecules from molecules is a play on Humans from humans by @aptshadow.bsky.social).
Just finished redefining the idea of a molecule using assembly theory. Will preprint soon.
SCAM ALERT. This is a fake conference that ripped off my and other people’s names to trick people into registering. There is no such conference that I or the others shown were invited or agreed to. We are working to try to get this fraud taken down from the web. chemsymposia.com
Join Chemsymposia 2026: Research & Innovation | ChemSymposia 2026
Join us at Chemsymposia 2026 to discover groundbreaking research in physics applications. Connect with experts, engage in insightful discussions, and explore our venue, registration details, and speak...
chemsymposia.com
The ghost of computation makes us believe that computation is fundamental. There is no physical basis for this. Computation is a human construct
Chemputers can be programmed using our chemical programming language (XDL) to make molecular machines. Great work by the team dlvr.it/TJsSjt Video done in collaboration with SciCommStudios.
To solve intelligence you need to solve life, to solve life you need to solve the origin of life. Assembly theory aims to make progress across the board but progress is not guaranteed.