Understanding the world with probabilistic programs

An AI scientist Richard Feynman famously said "What I cannot create, I do not understand", referring to the principle of gaining a deep understanding of a matter by deriving it from a blank piece of paper and just the fundamental concepts. Scientists and engineers follow this principle when they distil natural phenomena into concise mathematic equations and build test prototypes of complex machines. But doing so requires extensive work, begging the question if we can automate it? Scientists at TU Delft are exploring how artificial intelligence can help us discover explanations of natural phenomena around us.