How facial recognition is helping astronomers reveal the secrets of dark matter Digital Trends

Could the same technology that is used to unlock people's smartphones also help unlock the secrets of the universe? It may sound unlikely, but that's exactly what researchers from Switzerland's science and technology-focused university ETH Zurich are working to achieve. Using a variation of the type of artificial intelligence neural network behind today's facial recognition technology, they have developed new A.I. tools that could prove a game-changer in the discovery of so-called "dark matter." Physicists believe that understanding this mysterious substance is necessary to explain fundamental questions about the underlying structure of the universe. "The algorithm we [use] is very close to what is commonly used in facial recognition," Janis Fluri, a Ph.D. student who works in an ETH Zurich lab focused on applying neural networks to cosmological problems, told Digital Trends.