AI Algorithms Are Now Shockingly Good at Doing Science

No human, or team of humans, could possibly keep up with the avalanche of information produced by many of today's physics and astronomy experiments. Some of them record terabytes of data every day--and the torrent is only increasing. The Square Kilometer Array, a radio telescope slated to switch on in the mid-2020s, will generate about as much data traffic each year as the entire internet. Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences. The deluge has many scientists turning to artificial intelligence for help. With minimal human input, AI systems such as artificial neural networks--computer-simulated networks of neurons that mimic the function of brains--can plow through mountains of data, highlighting anomalies and detecting patterns that humans could never have spotted.