The Computer-Aided Discovery of Scientific Knowledge

  • Authors:
  • Pat Langley

  • Affiliations:
  • -

  • Venue:
  • DS '98 Proceedings of the First International Conference on Discovery Science
  • Year:
  • 1998

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Abstract

In this paper, we review AI research on computational discovery and its recent application to the discovery of new scientific knowledge. We characterize five historical stages of the scientific discovery process, which we use as an organizational framework in describing applications. We also identify five distinct steps during which developers or users can influence the behavior of a computational discovery system. Rather than criticizing such intervention, as done in the past, we recommend it as the preferred approach to using discovery software. As evidence for the advantages of such human-computer cooperation, we report seven examples of novel, computer-aided discoveries that have appeared in the scientific literature, along with the role that humans played in each case. We close by recommending that future systems provide more explicit support for human intervention in the discovery process.