Automatic Generation of Scientific Theories

创造力是科学研究的核心，无论是自然科学还是社会科学。它也是商业和工业创新的基础。心理学研究表明，达尔文的变异和选择机制是创造力的关键组成部分。同样，科学哲学家如波普尔也注意到科学知识的进化特征。然而，除了PI的初步工作外，还没有尝试使用计算机根据自然进化的机制来进化科学理论。本研究的目的是通过提出一种产生理论的新方法来填补这一空白。理论将由计算机程序使用基于自然进化的算法自动生成。理论的成功与否取决于它们对实验数据的解释程度，而最好的理论将被选择用于下一代，可能会通过突变或交叉进行修改。该方法将应用于认知心理学、健康心理学和行为经济学的实验。目前，科学理论的发展被认为是人类的专属领域。这个项目将真正具有变革性，因为它将挑战这一概念，并改变社会科学中看待理论的方式：从静态的抽象对象到可以由计算机程序操纵的具体对象。所提出的方法将导致更有效的方法来利用经验数据来发展理论知识，并对长期的应用研究产生影响。

Creativity is at the heart of scientific research, both in the natural and the social sciences. It is also at the basis of innovation in business and industry. Psychological research suggests that the Darwinian mechanisms of variation and selection are the key constituents of creativity. Similarly, philosophers of science such as Popper have noted the evolutionary character of scientific knowledge. However, with the exception of preliminary work by the PI, there has been no attempt to use computers to evolve scientific theories using mechanisms based on natural evolution. The aim of this research is to fill in this gap by proposing a novel way to generate theories. Theories will be automatically generated by computer programs using algorithms based on natural evolution. The success of the theories will be estimated by the extent to which they account for the experimental data, and the best theories will be selected for the next generation, possibly modified by mutation or crossover. The method will be applied to experiments in cognitive psychology, health psychology and behavioural economics. Currently, the development of scientific theories is considered the exclusive province of humans. This project will genuinely be transformative as it will challenge this conception and change the way theories are viewed in the social sciences: from static abstract objects to concrete objects that can be manipulated by computer programs. The proposed method will lead to more efficient ways to exploit empirical data for the development of theoretical knowledge, with implications for applied research in the long term.