You're conflating the need to use physical devices to find relationships, with the character of those relationships.
I need to use my hand, a pen and paper to draw a mathematical formula. That formula (say, 2+2=4) expresses no causal relationships.
The whole field of computer science is largely concerned with abstract (typically logical) relationships between mathematics objects; or in the case of ML, statistical ones.
Computer science has no scientific methodology for producing scientific explanations -- it isnt science. It is science in the old german sense of just "a systematic study".
Scientists conduct experiments in which they hold fixed some causal variables (ie., causally efficiacious physical properties), and vary others, according to an explanatory framework. They do this in order to explore the space of possible explanations.
I can think of no case in the whole field of csci in which there are cases where causal variables are held fixed; since there is no study of them. Computer science does not study even voltage, or silicon, or anything as physical objects with causal properties (that is electrical egnineering, physics, etc.).
Computer science ought just be called "applied discrete mathematics"
I see where you’re coming from, but I think there’s more to it than that, specifically with non determinism.
So if I observe some phenomena in a bit of software that was built to translate language, say the ability to summarize text.
Then I dig into that software and decide to change a specific portion of it, keeping same all other aspects of the software and its runtime, then I notice it’s no longer able to summarize text.
In that case I’ve discovered a causal relationship between the portion I changed and the phenomenon of text summarization.
Even though the program was constructed, there are unknown aspects.
How is that not the process of science?
Sorry if this is just my question from earlier, rephrased, but I still don’t see how this isn’t a scientific method.
I need to use my hand, a pen and paper to draw a mathematical formula. That formula (say, 2+2=4) expresses no causal relationships.
The whole field of computer science is largely concerned with abstract (typically logical) relationships between mathematics objects; or in the case of ML, statistical ones.
Computer science has no scientific methodology for producing scientific explanations -- it isnt science. It is science in the old german sense of just "a systematic study".
Scientists conduct experiments in which they hold fixed some causal variables (ie., causally efficiacious physical properties), and vary others, according to an explanatory framework. They do this in order to explore the space of possible explanations.
I can think of no case in the whole field of csci in which there are cases where causal variables are held fixed; since there is no study of them. Computer science does not study even voltage, or silicon, or anything as physical objects with causal properties (that is electrical egnineering, physics, etc.).
Computer science ought just be called "applied discrete mathematics"