Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to be the most transformative technology of our lifetimes, while mysteries about the nature of physical reality offer some of the most challenging and exciting research problems in the world. Our mission is to marry these two subjects. This class is presented by scientists at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI), a research group based at MIT but also including Harvard, Northeastern, and Tufts. In this event, we will introduce ourselves and tell you about some of the fascinating work we're doing at the intersection of AI and physics -- from the galactic scale, to the regime of fundamental particles, to the unthinkably microscopic domain of string theory which unifies quantum mechanics and gravity. Come to this class and learn why, as we say at IAIFI, "deep learning (AI) plus deep thinking (physics) equals deeper understanding."

Quantum mechanics is among the most successful physical frameworks that humanity has discovered, and it underlies our present understanding of nature at the smallest scales. One way of thinking about quantum mechanics, which you might hear about in a chemistry class, involves wavefunctions. However, there is a completely different and quite beautiful perspective on this subject which connects it with a branch of mathematics called "stochastic processes". In this class, we will explain the surprising connection between quantum physics and jittering, jagged paths with fractal properties. Using Python, we will show simulations of models like random walks and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, and tell you how they describe the behavior of quantum particles. And, if there's time, we'll try to give you a taste of our research which builds upon this connection to link quantum mechanics with the neural network models that are driving the AI revolution. Come to this class for a new and exciting view on the physics of the very small, and leave with an appreciation of how the mathematics of random paths encodes fundamental aspects of reality.

Artificial intelligence is poised to be the most transformative technology of our lifetimes. Although AI has already dramatically affected several aspects of our day-to-day experience, it may surprise you that AI also has deep connections to theoretical physics -- indeed, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics went to two researchers for their work on neural networks! In this talk, I will discuss the interesting connections between AI and my fields of quantum field theory and string theory. I will tell you a bit about my current job as a Junior Investigator at the ``AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions,'' a collaboration between MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, and Tufts which brings together scientists interested in the intersection between AI and physics. Finally, I will describe my vision for how AI might play a key role in the future of scientific research, driving innovation in all fields of study and radically transforming the way that we do science.

When you shake an electron, it spits out electromagnetic radiation. This fact is the basis of all wireless communication, from radio to wifi to satellite navigation. But despite these engineering applications, the behavior of moving charges is critical to pure theoretical physics. Einstein's 1905 paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies," among the most important papers ever published, showed that the way a charge radiates contains the seeds of a remarkable new subject called special relativity. Come to this class to hear how the study of moving charges led to an idea which revolutionized our understanding of what space and time really are.

When you shine light on molecules, they resonate at certain special frequencies, just as a tuning fork resonates with sound waves. Calculating these resonant frequencies seems like a daunting task, usually requiring the full machinery of quantum mechanics, but in this class we'll explore a simpler way. By thinking about the shape of a molecule, we can understand its resonances using pictures, visual intuition, and a minimum of math. Come see how chemists use symmetry to study the hidden music of molecular vibrations.

Quantum field theory is the most successful scientific theory known to humanity -- and also the hardest to understand. But it becomes much more manageable in the two-dimensional world familiar from the $$(x,y)$$ plane of geometry. This is the stage on which string theory and other so-called "conformal field theories" unfold, but here we'll discuss the essence of these theories using only intuition, conceptual arguments, and pictures. Come listen to two theoretical physics PhD students geek out about what makes physics in two dimensions so beautiful and so powerful.