On June 11, researchers gathered at the Autonomous Matter Symposium to discuss the concept of autonomy from different perspectives. Professor Jay Groves (UC Berkeley) argued that autonomy may not begin with decision-making, but with amplification. Professor Elisabetta Chicca (University of Groningen) offered a complementary perspective from the field of neuromorphic engineering.
Turning tiny signals into meaningful action
A particularly striking insight came from Groves (UC Berkeley). He argues that part of autonomy lies in a system’s ability to take a small signal and amplify it so that the entire system responds to it. What often happens instead is that a weak input signal produces only a weak local response. Everything farther away remains unaffected because it never receives the signal. In this view, part of autonomy is the ability to amplify very small pieces of information. In a sense, the system functions as an amplifier.
AMOLF group leader Dr. Nachi Stern thinks that this idea is a surprising insight because it is not what we usually think of when we think about autonomy.
Neuromorphic Engineering
Professor Elisabetta Chicca (University of Groningen) brought a different perspective from neuromorphic engineering. Chicca emphasizes that autonomy is not only about computation or learning, but fundamentally about how systems engage with the world through sensing.
While much of artificial intelligence focuses on learning rules and internal representations, Chicca highlighted that biological systems operate differently. They continuously integrate sensing, computation, and action in tightly coupled, dynamic loops. In her work, this is reflected in event-based sensing: systems that respond only to changes in their environment, rather than passively processing all incoming data.
Broader relevance
AMOLF PhD candidate Tess Heeremans enjoyed the symposium. She says: ’The Autonomous Matter symposium encouraged me to think beyond disciplinary boundaries: about the broader relevance of my own research, and how to communicate it clearly to colleagues from other fields.”
Looking back, Nachi Stern is satisfied with what was accomplished. He says: “We think of autonomous matter not as a fixed concept, but as a question we’re still shaping. Today helped us take a step toward asking it more clearly.”
Learn more
Find out more about Autonomous Matter on the Autonomous Matter research theme page.
