Source URL: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/02/04/0015227/cerns-mark-thomson-ai-to-revolutionize-fundamental-physics?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
Source: Slashdot
Title: CERN’s Mark Thomson: AI To Revolutionize Fundamental Physics
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AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses the transformative role of advanced artificial intelligence at Cern, particularly at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in revolutionizing particle physics and potentially uncovering fundamental truths about the universe. Prof. Mark Thomson highlights how machine learning techniques are pivotal in accelerating scientific discoveries, comparable to significant AI advancements in other fields like protein structure prediction.
Detailed Description:
The report emphasizes the impact of AI on fundamental physics, focusing on several key aspects:
* **AI’s Role in Particle Physics**:
* Prof. Mark Thomson, the incoming director general of Cern, asserts that AI is integral to substantial advancements in particle physics.
* Comparisons are drawn between AI techniques used in understanding complex particle behaviors and those achieving breakthroughs in predicting protein structures.
* **Specific Applications at LHC**:
* AI is utilized at LHC to detect rare particle events that are crucial to understanding the origins of mass as defined by the Higgs boson.
* Thomson mentions that new AI strategies could lead to a significant transformation in how physics experiments are conducted.
* **Future Prospects for Discoveries**:
* The Future Circular Collider proposal, a project aimed at extending LHC capabilities, is gaining momentum due to AI’s contributions.
* Major updates to the LHC scheduled for after 2030 could enhance the collider’s observational power tenfold, aiding in the study of the Higgs boson—a pivotal particle in the standard model of particle physics.
* **Operational Efficiency**:
* AI enhances real-time decision-making during proton collisions, improving data retention and analysis efficiency at unprecedented speeds.
* Dr. Katharine Leney demonstrates how AI has advanced data processing capabilities substantially over the past decade.
* **Generative AI Applications**:
* Generative AI is deployed to explore dark matter possibilities and to formulate new hypotheses by analyzing LHC data creatively.
* The approach has shifted from searching for known signatures to asking broader, more complex queries, increasing the potential for discovering unexpected phenomena.
The implications of this AI integration are profound for the field of physics, suggesting a new era where advanced data-driven insights will drive fundamental discoveries about the universe. Security and compliance professionals in AI and data-intensive environments must consider how AI can impact data management protocols, model validation, and ethical usage, especially in cutting-edge scientific research contexts.