Can the universe learn?, physicists ask

Lee Smolin of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics explains:

The universe could be teaching itself how to evolve into a better, more stable, cosmos. That’s the far-out idea proposed by a team of scientists who say they are reimagining the universe just as Darwin revamped our view of the natural world.

The controversial new idea attempts to explain why the laws of physics are as we see them using a mathematical framework to describe various proposed theories in physics, such as quantum field theories and quantum gravity. The result is a system similar to a machine-learning program.

Mara Johnson-Groh, “Can the Universe Learn?” at RealClearScience

If the universe is really similar to a machine learning system, as they suggest, then, no question, it was designed. All machine learning systems are designed. Are the physicists prepared to unpack that?

In order to have a universe that evolves, the researchers proposed an idea called the autodidactic universe — a universe that is self-learning. In this case, the learning would happen similar to how a machine-learning algorithm works, where feedback at one stage influences the next, with the goal of reaching a more stable energy state.

“We’re trying to change the conversation much the way that Darwin the biologist had to change the conversation to get a deeper understanding for the subject,” said author Lee Smolin, a physicist at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Waterloo, Canada.

Mara Johnson-Groh, “Can the Universe Learn?” at RealClearScience

But guys, Darwin would say you had killed his baby.

Never mind. Keep talking. Just keep talking.

The paper is open access.

Copyright © 2021 Uncommon Descent . This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement UNLESS EXPLICIT PERMISSION OTHERWISE HAS BEEN GIVEN. Please contact legal@uncommondescent.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana