| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/V040340/1 |
| Title: |
The Automatic Computer Scientist |
| Principal Investigator: |
Cropper, Dr A |
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| Department: |
Computer Science |
| Organisation: |
University of Oxford |
| Scheme: |
EPSRC Fellowship |
| Starts: |
01 September 2021 |
Ends: |
31 August 2026 |
Value (£): |
1,143,016
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Algorithms are ubiquitous: they track our sleep, find us cheap flights, and even help us see black holes. However, designing novel algorithms is extremely difficult, and we do not have efficient algorithms for many fundamental problems.
This project aims to accelerate algorithm discovery by building an automatic computer scientist (AutoCS).
The development of machines that automatically write computer programs is a long-standing grand challenge in artificial intelligence (AI). Such a development would revolutionise the field, offering the potential to build bug-free and efficient programs without required specialist knowledge.
To work towards this grand challenge, this project will build on major recent breakthroughs in inductive logic programming (ILP), a form of symbolic machine learning based on mathematical logic.
Because of the major recent breakthroughs, ILP currently has the ability of a first-year computer science student: given much guidance, it can learn simple algorithms and implement small programs.
This project aims to significantly advance ILP to the level of a computer science PhD student so that given little guidance it can discover novel and complex algorithms and implement large programs.
As a marker of success, a key objective of this project is to use an AutoCS to discover a novel algorithm and publish it in a computer science journal. Such a result would be a landmark achievement for AI and would herald a new era of automatic scientific discovery.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.ox.ac.uk |