{"id":8496,"date":"2024-03-25T22:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T02:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dontow.com\/?p=8496"},"modified":"2024-03-28T22:11:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T02:11:41","slug":"some-thoughts-on-ai-and-unsolved-puzzles-of-physics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dontow.com\/2024\/03\/some-thoughts-on-ai-and-unsolved-puzzles-of-physics\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Thoughts on AI and Unsolved Puzzles of Physics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Recently a lot of attention has focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help the human mind to attack all kinds of problems. A natural question is whether AI can help us solve some of the outstanding puzzles facing physics today. In a recent post in this website (December 2023) we discussed a personal view<\/strong> of the most important discoveries in physics (I must emphasize the words \u201cpersonal view\u201d as different people could have much different choices). For example, as we already mentioned in that article, Dmitri Mendeleev of the Periodic Table and some of the major discoveries regarding the origin and development of the universe are not on that list. The 12 items that appeared in the list are the following:\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, as pointed out in that Dec. 2023 article, we also wrote \u201d that in spite of all the discoveries in the last half centrury, there are still several major mysteries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, major discoveries are waiting to be discovered to answer these questions. Perhaps, this means that the greatest discoveries may still be waiting to be discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have no illusion that these discoveries will be easy to be discovered. Furthermore, even with the support of AI, it may not be discovered without creative thinkers and deep knowledge of what transpired in the minds of the great physicists during the last several hundreds of years. Nevertheless, we believe that AI could help us in solving some of the mysteries facing us, perhaps even in the three mysteries just mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We believe that this faith is not just based on wishful thinking, but it is based on what went on with respect to some of the things that happened related to some of the great discoveries in the last 75 years. This was pointed out in the earlier article \u201cSome Thoughts on AI and Frontiers of Science\u201d (posted in the June 2023 issue of this website), which we will repeat here to serve as lead ins to the current discusssion of AI and unsolved puzzles of physics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of Possible Leads as Input to AI-Enabled Computers:<\/strong> We probably can discuss for hours on the definition of creativity and wouldn\u2019t be able to come to agreement on its definition and whether computers can exhibit that. However, let\u2019s not talk in abstract, and actually look at some of the discoveries in the last 50-100 years that were considered to be major discoveries. In particular, consider the field of high energy physics (or elementary particle physics). In my opinion, some of those discoveries could have come from computers with suitable questions or inputs from a knowledgeable researcher or a team of knowledgeable researchers, then with the help of AI-capable computer(s), some leads suggested to the computer could enable the computer and\/or researcher(s) to make the new discovery. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not taking away any credit from the people who achieved these past achievements, because they deserve all the credits that they received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think if we work on it, we could come up with many other new ideas or discoveries not only in physics, but also in other fields, that could have been made or led researchers to by computers with AI, as long as appropriate questions and relevant data are input to the AI-enabled computers. Of course, this may be an iterative process, meaning there could be going back and forth with the AI-enabled computers before a meaningful new idea or discovery will emerge, or before a new idea that could lead to a new discovery will emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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