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Self-Assembly Gets Automated in Reverse of ‘Game of Life’

September 10, 2025

In cellular automata, simple rules create elaborate structures. Now researchers can start with the structures and reverse-engineer the rules.

Busy Beaver Hunters Reach Numbers That Overwhelm Ordinary Math

August 22, 2025

The quest to find the longest-running simple computer program has identified a new champion. It’s physically impossible to write out the numbers involved using standard mathematical notation.

The Year in Computer Science

December 19, 2024

Researchers got a better look at the thoughts of chatbots, amateurs learned exactly how complicated simple systems can be, and quantum computers passed an essential milestone.

With Fifth Busy Beaver, Researchers Approach Computation’s Limits

July 2, 2024

After decades of uncertainty, a motley team of programmers has proved precisely how complicated simple computer programs can get.

Game Theory Can Make AI More Correct and Efficient

May 9, 2024

Researchers are drawing on ideas from game theory to improve large language models and make them more consistent.

The Surprisingly Simple Math Behind Puzzling Matchups

January 25, 2024

If Anna beats Benji in a game and Benji beats Carl, will Anna beat Carl?

Math’s ‘Game of Life’ Reveals Long-Sought Repeating Patterns

January 18, 2024

John Conway’s Game of Life, a famous cellular automaton, has been found to have periodic patterns of every possible length.

AI System Beats Chess Puzzles With ‘Artificial Brainstorming’

November 15, 2023

By bringing together disparate approaches, machines can reach a new level of creative problem-solving.

Machines Learn Better if We Teach Them the Basics

February 1, 2023

A wave of research improves reinforcement learning algorithms by pre-training them as if they were human.

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