Call for Abstracts: Machine Learning Meets Scientific Understanding Workshop

The Emmy Noether group UDNN: Scientific Understanding and Deep Neural Networks is pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for the upcoming workshop Machine Learning Meets Scientific Understanding, which will take place on June 26 and 27 at TU Dortmund University. This interdisciplinary event seeks to bring together philosophers of science and machine learning (ML), as well as ML practitioners, to explore the intersections between ML and scientific understanding. 

We welcome contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics: 

• ML as a Tool for Scientific Discovery: How can ML systems contribute to generating new hypotheses, models, or experimental designs, and how may this advance scientific understanding? 
• ML and Scientific Explanation: How do ML systems impact scientists’ ability to explain scientific phenomena? Is ML an obstacle to explanation, or can it serve as an aid to explaining phenomena? 
• Understanding from ML: How do ML systems aid or hinder human understanding of scientific phenomena? Is there understanding more or less directly from ML, and does it have to pass through explanations based on ML models? Or does ML instead pave the way towards new modes of understanding? How does ML relate to different known forms of understanding, such as objectual and explanatory understanding? 
• Evaluating ML-Driven Insights: What are the criteria for assessing the reliability, robustness, and explanatory power of ML-generated scientific outputs?  
• ML and Scientific Understanding in Particular Cases: What are use cases of ML in specific scientific fields, such as biology, physics, or social sciences, that ostensibly show its impact on scientific understanding? 

Confirmed speakers 

·       Cameron Buckner, Philosophy, University of Florida 

·       Edward Chang, Computer Science, Stanford University 

·       Finnur Dellsén, Philosophy, University of Iceland 

·       Insa Lawler, Philosophy, UNC Greensboro 

·       Holger Lyre, Philosophy, Magdeburg University 

·       Daniel Neider, Computer Science, TU Dortmund University 

·       Darrell P. Rowbottom, Philosophy, Lingnan University Hong Kong 

·       Emily Sullivan, Philosophy, Utrecht University 

Submission Guidelines 

We invite abstracts of up to 500 words for presentations of approximately 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of discussion. Submissions should include the title of the presentation and the abstract. 

Please submit your abstract in PDF format via mail, including your name and affiliation, to udnn.abstracts@gmail.com by January 31^st, 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by March 31^st, 2025. 

For inquiries, please contact the organizers at udnn.ht@tu-dortmund.de. 

We look forward to receiving your contributions!