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Lee Cronin

@leecronin.bsky.social
1.7K followers 15 following 82 posts

Regius Professor. Scientist, Chemist, Inventor, CEO of Chemify. Fascinated & in a state of confusion & optimism. Trying to digitize chemistry & make alien life.

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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
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.
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Hiroki Sayama @hirokisayama.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
#ALIFE2026 Day 3 keynote speaker Lee Cronin discusses chemputation and the chemical possibility spaces
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David Kipping @davidkipping.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
New #CoolWorldsPodcast episode with Lee Cronin! youtu.be/xavckvuszzU
youtu.be
#35 Lee Cronin - Chemputation, Origin of Life, Assembly Theory
YouTube video by Cool Worlds Podcast
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Exploring chemical space with Assembly Theory. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
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.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
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.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
AI cannot in principle make novel discoveries.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Can assembly theory & assembly equation be used to measure selection in real experiments? arxiv.org/abs/2512.18752
arxiv.org
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...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Assembly addition chains: arxiv.org/abs/2512.18030
arxiv.org
Assembly Addition Chains
In this paper we extend the notion of Addition Chains over Z+ to a general set S. We explain how the algebraic structure of Assembly Multi-Magma over the pairs (S,BB proper subset of S) allows to defi...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
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.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
With AI I can be both chemist & director.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
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.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Causation requires matter. But causal matter requires evolution.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
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
arxiv.org
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...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
www.technologynetworks.com/informatics/... #chemputation #digitalchemistry
technologynetworks.com
“Chemputation” and the Rise of Digital Chemistry
Discover how digital chemistry is shaping the future of drug and materials discovery through automation and scalable innovation.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
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
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
AI is showing us that creativity sits in an entirely different category to data retrieval.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
Chemputation is universal.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
So we opened the worlds first Chemifarm today! www.chemify.io
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
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
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
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
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
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...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
This helps redefine what a molecule is & that blows my mind. arxiv.org/abs/2408.09171
arxiv.org
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...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Want to know why Chemputation redefines the very concept of what a molecule is? Updated preprint arxiv.org/abs/2408.09171
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
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).
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Just finished redefining the idea of a molecule using assembly theory. Will preprint soon.
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Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · 11/04/2025
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
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...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
The ghost of computation makes us believe that computation is fundamental. There is no physical basis for this. Computation is a human construct
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
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.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
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.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Academia is under attack by the tech bros, which is hilarious because all their ‘tech’ was invented in academia.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Critical thinking, freedom of speech, & freedom to disagree are hard won & should be hard won every single day. Don’t take them for granted with nonsensical isms.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
Saturday night radioactivity.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Chemputers are Turing complete & this is going to accelerate chemistry dramatically. Chem/acc
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
Ridge surfing in Sedona.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
It still blows my mind that it’s possible to measure molecular complexity spectroscopically. In a few weeks we will be releasing a new set of tools for chemists to explore molecular assembly spaces.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Assembly Theory is the only way to objectively measure the complexity of objects, systems, & phenomena. All other methods require assumptions which inject additional complexity into the data without normalisation which prevents a meaningful comparison.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Who says 3D printing drugs is impossible? Here is Morphine.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Proper sleep screen on my remarkable from the onion.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
A proof that the assembly index problem is NP-complete is here: arxiv.org/abs/2406.12176 This also explains why the assembly index is not equivalent to other commonly used complexity measures including Shannon entropy, Huffman encoding & LZW. #AssemblyTheory
arxiv.org
Assembly Theory and its Relationship with Computational Complexity
Assembly theory (AT) quantifies selection using the assembly equation and identifies complex objects that occur in abundance based on two measurements, assembly index and copy number, where the assemb...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
A proof that the assembly index problem is NP-complete is here: arxiv.org/abs/2406.12176 This also explains why the assembly index is not equivalent to other commonly used complexity measures including Shannon entropy, Huffman encoding & LZW. #AssemblyTheory
arxiv.org
Assembly Theory and its Relationship with Computational Complexity
Assembly theory (AT) quantifies selection using the assembly equation and identifies complex objects that occur in abundance based on two measurements, assembly index and copy number, where the assemb...
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Academics are too scared to do ‘career ending’ or controversial research. Let’s encourage people not to be boring & support them. The future of humanity will depend on this to accelerate innovation. We must to be less boring even if it means being wrong! Just be less wrong…
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Sara Imari Walker @saraimari.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
the ghost in the machine is historical contingency
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Can we use XDL like a real programming language to run a chemputer? Yes! Here we build & use reaction blueprints for chiral synthesis in a chemputer. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #chemputation
nature.com
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
You can’t get meaning by just compressing data.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Why agree? Disagreeing in good faith is the only way to make progress.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
There seems to be a mediocrity crisis.
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
I’m on both X and Bluesky. I find X raw & Bluesky rather elitist. As an academic anarchist I like to poke elitism. But I’m flawed so I apologise to everyone for the offence, on both platforms. 😂
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Seen in a bookshop in silicon valley…
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Lee Cronin @leecronin.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
The idea that AI is suddenly going to wake up & be sentient is obviously wrong & those that peddle this idea are scammers.
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