http://www.alanzucconi.com/2016/03/16/cellular-automata-with-shaders/

This post will show how to simulate cellular automata using shaders. The popular cellular automaton developed by John Conway, Game of Life, will be used as an example for this tutorial. To learn how to set up your project, check out the first two parts of this tutorial: How to Use Shaders For Simulations and How to Simulate Smoke with Shaders.