Computer systems pervade more and more our everyday lives. We rely on these systems when we phone, drive, fly on airplanes, use medical equipment, just to name a few. The domains of computer applications are also diverse, ranging from well established fields – e.g., Information Systems and the WWW – to the frontiers of current research – e.g., control of humanoid robots, methods for DNA sequencing, and the study of complex systems dynamics. But where is the limit? Is there anything that computers cannot compute? The logic of todays computers relies on the Universal Turing Machine (UTM) model: an abstract, extremely simple device that can simulate the behaviour of any programmable computer. Thus, the inherent limitations of the UTM are indeed the limits of our computers. However, new models of computation such as quantum, biological, optical, and other kinds of massively parallel/distributed computing are at sight. Perhaps, problems that are difficult or impossible to tackle today could be easily solved in the future. The Workshop is a joint initiative of people working in research labs in the Department of Communication, Computer and System sciences (DIST) at the University of Genoa. The initiative is promoted by the following research labs:  | AI-Lab - Artificial Intelligence Laboratory |  | Biolab - Laboratory for Bioimages and Bioengineering |  | Infomus Laboratorio di Informatica Musicale |  | LIDO - Laboratorio di Informatica DIST-ORSI(Siemens) |  | LIRA - Laboratory for integrated advanced robotics |  | MIND-Lab - Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence for the Diagnosis of Complex Systems |  | STAR-Lab - Systems and Tecnologies for Automated Reasoning Laboratory | |
