My Path into Physics (at MIT)

Hello.I am an aspiring data scientist and would like some advice or how should I gdt into research areas in physics(astro/particle etc) .I want to apply ML/AI/DL in physics and would love your opinion on that .Do I need a physics degree for that or can I learn online ? If yes how?
Also I would like to know about big data in physics
Write me here or mail me at mandar07998@gmail.com