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The AI scientist: Physicists create software that can carry out experiments on its own (and it has already recreated Nobel prize winning research)

Project replicated the experiment that won the 2001 Nobel Prize
Machine learnt how to run the experiment in less than an hour

Published: 21:53 GMT, 16 May 2016 | Updated: 22:11 GMT, 16 May 2016

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It could be the moment scientists accidentally put themselves out of a job.

Physicists have revealed artificial intelligence software was used to run a complex experiment.

The experiment, developed by physicists from ANU and UNSW ADFA, created an extremely cold gas trapped in a laser beam, known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, replicating the experiment that won the 2001 Nobel Prize.

The experiment created an extremely cold gas trapped in a laser beam, known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, replicating the experiment that won the 2001 Nobel Prize. Pictured, Paul Wigley and Michael Hush, who programmed the software

BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATES

Bose-Einstein condensates are some of the coldest places in the Universe, far colder than outer space, typically less than a billionth of a degree above absolute zero.

They could be used for mineral exploration or navigation systems as they are extremely sensitive to external disturbances, which allows them to make very precise measurements such as tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic field or gravity.

'I didn't expect the machine could learn to do the experiment itself, from scratch, in under an hour,' said co-lead researcher Paul Wigley from ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering.

'A simple computer program would have taken longer than the age of the universe to run through all the combinations and work this out.'

Bose-Einstein condensates are some of the coldest places in the Universe, far colder than outer space, typically less than a billionth of a degree above absolute zero.

The artificial intelligence system's ability to set itself up quickly every morning and compensate for any overnight fluctuations would make this fragile technology much more useful for field measurements, said co-lead researcher Dr Michael Hush from UNSW ADFA.

The team cooled the gas to around 1 microkelvin, and then handed control of the three laser beams over to the artificial intelligence to cool the trapped gas down to nanokelvin.

'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,' he said.

'It's cheaper than taking a physicist everywhere with you.'

The team cooled the gas to around 1 microkelvin, and then handed control of the three laser beams over to the artificial intelligence to cool the trapped gas down to nanokelvin.