Will artificial intelligence (AI) replace physicists in the future? This might be the question on some skeptics' minds after hearing that a team of Australian physicists has recreated the 2001 Nobel Prize physics experiment called, Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).
Artificial Intelligence And Bose-Einstein Condensate Experiment
According to the researchers, the artificial intelligence-driven system replicated the complex quantum experiment to generate an extremely cold gas trapped in a laser beam. With the help of colleagues from the University of Adelaide and the University of South Wales Australian Defense Force Academy (UNSW ADFA), co-lead researcher Paul Wigley of the Australian National University Research School of Physics and Engineering established the online optimization process based on AI technology to help find the finest approach in producing Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC), Forbes notes.
"I didn't expect the machine could learn to do the experiment itself, from scratch, in under an hour," Wigley said. "A simple computer program would have taken longer than the age of the Universe to run through all the combinations and work this out."
What Is Bose-Einstein Condensate?
Bose-Einstein condensates are reportedly some of the coldest places in the Universe, even colder than outer space. They are characteristically less than a billionth of a degree above absolute zero, Science Daily learns.
Since BECs are extremely sensitive to external disturbances, they could be ideally used for mineral exploration or navigation systems. Its sensitivity also enables them to make precise measurement, including the minute changes in the magnetic field or gravity of the Earth.
Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Physicists In The Future?
With the latest AI-driven innovation, does it mean that artificial intelligence will put physicists out of a job? According to co-lead researcher Dr. Michael Hush from UNSW ADFA, the new artificial intelligence-based technique is cheaper compared to take a physicist out into the field and can create faster condensates in greater quantities, not to mention that AI doesn't sleep, eat or take vacation leaves, as per Tech Crunch.
Artificial intelligence also allows a BEC system to be set up quickly each morning and the machine would compensate for any overnight fluctuations. Thus, it can be taken out into the field.
"You could make a working device to measure gravity that you could take in the back of a car, and the artificial intelligence would recalibrate and fix itself no matter what," Hush said. "It's cheaper than taking a physicist everywhere with you."
In addition, Hush said the latest artificial intelligence-driven system will lead to a larger and better experiment. He also added that they are contemplating to employ artificial intelligence technology to rapidly build a larger BEC, Business Standard reports.
Meanwhile, this artificial intelligence system is extremely specific in its design and can't be applied as-is to other problems. Wigley and Hush's research was published on Monday, May 16 in the journal Scientific Reports.
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