How can AI help create better algorithms?

Recently, researchers at Google's DeepMind, London discovered that AI can help solve matric multiplication problems by finding faster algorithms. According to their published paper in the journal Nature, the team describes using reinforcement learning to enhance math-based algorithms. Additionally, a Research Briefing has been published in the same journal issue highlighting their work in London. Often, computer programming uses Math as a means for describing and then tweaking representations of real-world phenomena. For instance, it is used to represent weather conditions or nodes in an artificial network or represent pixels on a computer screen.