Will artificial intelligence ever discover new laws of physics?

Algorithms tin pore implicit astrophysical information to place underlying equations. Now, physicists are trying to fig retired however to imbue these “machine theorists” with the quality to find deeper laws of nature

Physics 21 November 2022

By Thomas Lewton

Raymond Biesinger

SPEAKING astatine the University of Cambridge successful 1980, Stephen Hawking considered the anticipation of a theory of everything that would unite general relativity and quantum mechanics – our 2 starring descriptions of world – into 1 neat, all-encompassing equation. We would request immoderate help, helium reckoned, from computers. Then helium made a provocative prediction astir these machines’ increasing abilities. “The extremity mightiness not beryllium successful show for theoretical physics,” said Hawking. “But it mightiness beryllium successful show for theoretical physicists.”

Artificial intelligence has achieved overmuch since then, yet physicists person been dilatory to usage it to hunt for caller and deeper laws of nature. It isn’t that they fearfulness for their jobs. Indeed, Hawking whitethorn person had his lingua firmly successful his cheek. Rather, it is that the deep-learning algorithms down AIs spit retired answers that magnitude to a “what” alternatively than a “why”, which makes them astir arsenic utile for a theorist arsenic saying the reply to the question of life, the beingness and everything is 42.

Except that present we person recovered a mode to marque deep-learning algorithms talk physicists’ language. We tin leverage AI’s quality to scour immense information sets successful hunt of hidden patterns and extract meaningful results – namely, equations. “We’re moving into the find phase,” says Steve Brunton astatine the University of Washington successful Seattle.

Which isn’t to accidental Hawking was right. Far from facing extinction, theoretical physicists mightiness person recovered the eventual collaborators. Their situation present is to fig retired which aspects of the quality theorist’s playbook should beryllium enshrined successful instrumentality counterparts truthful they don’t get stuck successful the aforesaid ways we have.

Symbolic …