AI and the Dark Matter Search ...

[BeAChooser]

Ask ChatGPT how much money has been spent in the search for Dark Matter and it will tell you that “spending on dark matter research over the past few decades likely exceeds $10 billion when factoring in the combined global efforts.” If, however, you ask CHATGPT to list all the programs that have been sold on the premise of explaining dark matter, it responds with the name of 20 programs. When I asked the cost of those programs, I was told $20 billion or more, "though not all the costs are directly attributable to dark matter research." When I asked ChastGPT to list planned projects that are supposed to help find dark matter. It responded with a list of 15 items projected to cost over 8 billion dollars (meaning perhaps twice that if actually built. So all told, perhaps $40 billion dollars is the cost of DM related research now and into the immediate future.

Next I asked of what value is DM related research? What I got as an answer was a lot of mays and coulds, ending with the statement “Dark matter research is of enormous scientific value because it addresses one of the greatest mysteries in modern physics: What is most of the universe made of? The pursuit of this question not only promises to reshape our understanding of the cosmos but also has the potential to drive technological and intellectual progress in ways that could benefit many other fields. It can inspire generations of scientists, engineers, and thinkers to push the boundaries of knowledge, with unpredictable but potentially transformative applications.” But there nothing specific or definite in it’s answer as far as tangible and monetary benefits. Just wishy washy sort of benefits.

When I asked what will happen to humanity if we don’t find dark matter, the response was summarized thus: “If humanity never finds dark matter, the consequences are mostly intellectual and scientific rather than practical or immediate. Our understanding of the universe would remain incomplete, leaving key cosmic mysteries unsolved. However, science would continue to evolve, potentially leading to new models and theories that could explain the same phenomena in different ways. Philosophically, the lack of discovery might remind us that not all mysteries may be solvable by humans, but the search itself would likely continue, fostering innovation and driving new lines of inquiry.”

In other words, it sound to me like the AI believes there's no killing the search for dark matter, even if it doesn't exist.