Dr. Martin King

I am a philosopher of science whose main interests lie the epistemological aspects of physics. My current research project is about model-independent methods and deep learning in particle physics. With no clear path towards new physics and no new energy regimes on the horizon, physicists are increasingly turning to such methods. My project examines the epistemological issues surrounding the use artificial intelligence (in particular deep learning), the change in scientific methodology, and the transformation and treatment of huge amounts of data in searches for new physics. I am undertaking this research as PI of a DFG Eigenestelle project entitled "Deep Learning in Particle Physics: A Philosophical Analysis", which I am beginning at the MCMP in October 2022.

My dissertation was focused on explanation in physics and there I laid the groundworks for a model-based account of deductivist explanation. For the six year since my PhD, I have been a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bonn and the University of Wuppertal, where I worked as a part of the DFG Research Unit "The Epistemology of the LHC." I was a member of the group "Model Building and Dynamics" which studied the ways in which models in particle physics are changing in response to the data coming from the LHC, in particular to the discovery of the Higgs and to the lack of discovery of new physics. I am also a member of the Lichtenberg Group for the History and Philosophy of Physics at the University of Bonn.

Links to my published articles can be found on my personal website: www.philphys.com
More information about my previous work and research unit can be found on the Epistemology of the LHC website: www.lhc-epistemologie.uni-wuppertal.de
More information about the Lichtenberg Group can be found here: www.history-and-philosophy-of-physics.com

Research interests

My research interests are in the areas of philosophy of artificial intelligence, philosophy of science, and philosophy of physics.