15,967 research outputs found
The computer revolution in science: steps towards the realization of computer-supported discovery environments
The tools that scientists use in their search processes together form so-called discovery environments. The promise of artificial intelligence and other branches of computer science is to radically transform conventional discovery environments by equipping scientists with a range of powerful computer tools including large-scale, shared knowledge bases and discovery programs. We will describe the future computer-supported discovery environments that may result, and illustrate by means of a realistic scenario how scientists come to new discoveries in these environments. In order to make the step from the current generation of discovery tools to computer-supported discovery environments like the one presented in the scenario, developers should realize that such environments are large-scale sociotechnical systems. They should not just focus on isolated computer programs, but also pay attention to the question how these programs will be used and maintained by scientists in research practices. In order to help developers of discovery programs in achieving the integration of their tools in discovery environments, we will formulate a set of guidelines that developers could follow
What Can Artificial Intelligence Do for Scientific Realism?
The paper proposes a synthesis between human scientists and artificial representation learning models as a way of augmenting epistemic warrants of realist theories against various anti-realist attempts. Towards this end, the paper fleshes out unconceived alternatives not as a critique of scientific realism but rather a reinforcement, as it rejects the retrospective interpretations of scientific progress, which brought about the problem of alternatives in the first place. By utilising adversarial machine learning, the synthesis explores possibility spaces of available evidence for unconceived alternatives providing modal knowledge of what is possible therein. As a result, the epistemic warrant of synthesised realist theories should emerge bolstered as the underdetermination by available evidence gets reduced. While shifting the realist commitment away from theoretical artefacts towards modalities of the possibility spaces, the synthesis comes out as a kind of perspectival modelling
The Role of Imagination in Social Scientific Discovery: Why Machine Discoverers Will Need Imagination Algorithms
When philosophers discuss the possibility of machines making scientific discoveries, they typically focus on discoveries in physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics. Observing the rapid increase of computer-use in science, however, it becomes natural to ask whether there are any scientific domains out of reach for machine discovery. For example, could machines also make discoveries in qualitative social science? Is there something about humans that makes us uniquely suited to studying humans? Is there something about machines that would bar them from such activity? A close look at the methodology of interpretive social science reveals several abilities necessary to make a social scientific discovery, and one capacity necessary to possess any of them is imagination. For machines to make discoveries in social science, therefore, they must possess imagination algorithms
Measuring impact of academic research in computer and information science on society
Academic research in computer & information science (CIS) has
contributed immensely to all aspects of society. As academic
research today is substantially supported by various government
sources, recent political changes have created ambivalence
amongst academics about the future of research funding. With
uncertainty looming, it is important to develop a framework to
extract and measure the information relating to impact of CIS
research on society to justify public funding, and demonstrate the
actual contribution and impact of CIS research outside academia.
A new method combining discourse analysis and text mining of a
collection of over 1000 pages of impact case study documents
written in free-text format for the Research Excellence
Framework (REF) 2014 was developed in order to identify the
most commonly used categories or headings for reporting impact
of CIS research by UK Universities (UKU). According to the
research reported in REF2014, UKU acquired 83 patents in
various areas of CIS, created 64 spin-offs, generated ÂŁ857.5
million in different financial forms, created substantial
employment, reached over 6 billion users worldwide and has
helped save over ÂŁ1 billion Pounds due to improved processes etc.
to various sectors internationally, between 2008 and 2013
Open problems in artificial life
This article lists fourteen open problems in artificial life, each of which is a grand challenge requiring a major advance on a fundamental issue for its solution. Each problem is briefly explained, and, where deemed helpful, some promising paths to its solution are indicated
Lessons from a Restricted Turing Test
We report on the recent Loebner prize competition inspired by Turing's test
of intelligent behavior. The presentation covers the structure of the
competition and the outcome of its first instantiation in an actual event, and
an analysis of the purpose, design, and appropriateness of such a competition.
We argue that the competition has no clear purpose, that its design prevents
any useful outcome, and that such a competition is inappropriate given the
current level of technology. We then speculate as to suitable alternatives to
the Loebner prize.Comment: 20 page
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