Back in 2009, computer scientists began experimenting with a simple algorithm that used the process of evolution to discover laws of physics. It worked by crunching the data from simple experiments, such as the swinging motion of a double pendulum. To many people’s surprise, it discovered relations such as the laws of conservation of energy, of momentum and the like.
Since then, physicists and computer scientists have begun to use artificial intelligence techniques to go even further, finding more already known laws, relations and symmetries. But the initial fascination with this approach has given way to frustration.
Machines are good at rediscovering physical laws and processes but not so good at finding new ones. In other words, computers seem more useful for blind discovery than intuitive insight.
