Abstract
The aim of this paper is conceptual and theoretical: to propose the
concept of generic scientific task as an organizing principle for
research on scientific discovery, or more broadly, scientific
inference. Generic tasks cut across various scientific fields, but
involve rather specific inferences; in any case, their generality is
found only by surveying science as a whole. Computer programs that
carry out these generic tasks may differ somewhat from one science to
another, but they all share similar computational mechanisms: hence
they represent generic tasks. We assemble a broad array of previous
work as evidence to support this concept, and work out the research
plan and methods that are implied by it.
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