Reporting by XinZhiyuan
Edit: David
【Introduction to New Wisdom】The universe can also learn on its own? Scientists have proposed a "self-taught universe," the concept of a universe with the ability to learn on its own. This learning is implemented in a manner similar to machine learning algorithms, where feedback from one stage will affect the next, with the goal of reaching a more stable state of energy. Researchers believe that only the universe that can learn its own laws can produce wonderful phenomena such as life.
Throughout the ages, it is not uncommon for people who have become masters through self-study.
For example, Leonardo da Vinci, the master artist who taught himself 16 languages, Kató Lomb, the most famous Hungarian translator of the 20th century, who taught himself to master 17 languages, and Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, and so on.
Now, this list may add one of the most heavyweight members in history , the universe.
What, the universe will also teach itself?
You heard that right. According to a new study recently published in arXiV, the universe may continue to teach itself how to evolve into a more stable state.
The joint study by Microsoft and Brown University argues that all the laws of physics that we can see or measure today develop on their own over time.
To get an evolved universe, the researchers proposed a concept known as a "self-taught universe"—that is, a universe with the ability to learn on its own.
In this case, learning will be achieved in a way that works similarly to machine learning algorithms, i.e. feedback from one stage will affect the next stage, with the goal of reaching a more stable state of energy.
Following this concept, the research team developed possible architectures that the universe uses to learn in order to take advantage of matrix mathematics, neural networks, and other machine learning principles. In short, it is to study whether the universe can be a learning computer.
Researchers say that if we want to understand how these laws of physics evolve, we should apply Darwin's theory of natural selection to cosmology.
A "self-taught" universe
Over time, the simple laws of physics on which the universe initially relied would become more complex. Why do we still have cats and dogs in our world, but no trilobites or dinosaurs? It turns out that cats and dogs are the best at adapting to their environment and have successfully passed this gene on to their offspring.
The same is true of the universe. The difference is that it does not need to compete with other universes like cats and dogs, but maintains its own continued existence.
Imagine an early version of the universe, say, gravity between objects as a more primitive concept. Newton's law of universal gravitation states that the forces of two particles attracting to each other are proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
This law explains why the Moon's surface gravitational pull is about one-sixth of Earth's.
But in a simpler version of the universe, perhaps gravity is a more static concept, and the gravitational pull of the Moon and Earth is the same.
"Over time, this simple cosmological system will teach itself and produce some basic laws, and that's what this paper says." Janna Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College at Columbia University, said.
The "self-learning" of the universe: the changing laws of physics
"If the universe can be computed with a given set of algorithms, then maybe the universe is doing the same thing as AI, such as learning from its own systems and learning new rules by itself." In cosmology, these rules are the laws of physics."
The paper combines cosmology or the study of the universe and its origins with biology. The authors argue that:
There may be a mechanism in the structure of the natural world through which the universe can learn its laws. In other words, this generalized law may transcend all fields of science. This means that the laws of physics may be governed by the higher-order laws of the universe that govern them—and we can't even understand them.
"Exploring the connections between different fields is crucial because knowledge itself does not fundamentally divide what domains are." Bruce Bassett, professor at the University of Cape Town's Department of Mathematics and head of the cosmology team at the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences in South Africa, said.
"Knowledge is divided and compressed into biology, physics, and sociology because of our limited brain capacity, and the cost of fragmentation and compression is that it is easy to miss the commonalities and hidden universalities among the branches of human knowledge."
This may be why it is so difficult for us to understand that the universe may be "self-taught." And "the universe has no obligation to make us understand that." Famous cosmologist Neil Degrass Tyson said.
And, unlike us humans, the universe doesn't need to compete with other universes, the universe is doing its own thing.
In fact, when we use words like "competition" and "mind" to describe the universe, we have actually succumbed to anthropocentrism, the philosophical view that everything begins and ends with human beings. In reality, this may not be the case.
"Many of the ways we see the world are rooted in languages we are familiar with." Janna Levin said. "The universe has no consciousness, just as choice is unconscious, and choice is 100% unknowable."
Not all researchers are excited about the new concept, though.
Tim Maudlin, a philosophy professor at New York University who was not involved in the new study, insists that there is no evidence to support the concept, and that there is much evidence to deny it, such as that some of the laws of physics that have been measured are the same today as they were shortly after the Big Bang.
The researchers also admitted in the paper that they were only trying to take the first step towards a new theory.
"It's really too early to comment on whether these ideas have anything to do with our universe. The core idea of this article is interesting, merging cosmology with the core idea behind artificial intelligence, and this theory is a speculative radical hypothesis." Bassett said.
Theoretical physics, however, requires radical ideas. "Because we find ourselves facing a crazy universe. Maybe this hypothesis won't produce anything interesting, but it may also inspire real breakthroughs that take us to an unimaginable place."
Resources:
https://www.ttbook.org/interview/universe-under-no-obligation-make-sense-us
http://www.cankaoxiaoxi.com/science/20210616/2446203_6.shtml
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a38539247/universe-evolves-laws-of-physics-by-itself/