What is a scientist – just a fancy type of nerve net?
It is not a single nerve network, but a pair of computer programs that can help scientists make new discoveries. My group has already developed an algorithm that can help individual tasks, such as weather forecasts, identifying global temperature drivers, or trying to discover useful relationships, such as the effects of vaccination policies on the transfer of diseases.
Now we are creating a wider “Foundation” model that is sufficient versatile to handle numerous tasks. Scientists collect data from all kinds of devices, and we want our model to include a variety of data types – numbers, text, photos and videos. We have an early prototype, but we want to provide our model more comprehensive, more intelligent and better training before releasing our model. This can happen in a couple of years.
What do you imagine can do it?
AI can help in every step of the scientific discovery process. When I say “AI scientist”, I mean AI is really a scientific assistant. For example, an experiment usually requires data collection and organization efforts at the literature survey phase. But now, a large language model can read and summarize thousands of books during one lunch break. AI, which is not good, is to decide scientific authenticity. In this case, this experienced researcher cannot cope with. Although AI can help design an assumption, experiences and data analysis, it cannot still have sophisticated experiences.
To what extent would you like to see the concept?
As I photograph it, an AI scientist lets people handle the creative aspects of science. This is something in which we are particularly good. Assurance, the purpose is not to change human scientists. I don’t imagine – nor never want to see – a machine for human creativity, or a machine that interferes.
The original story Re -published with the permission of Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent post Simones Foundation The mission of which is to enhance the public understanding of science by covering research advances and trends in mathematics and physical and life sciences.
