Scientific discovery is one of the most sophisticated human activities. First, scientists must understand the existing knowledge and identify a significant gap.
Next, they must formulate a research question and design and conduct an experiment in pursuit of an answer.
Then, they must analyse and interpret the results of the experiment, which may raise yet another research question.
Can a process this complex be automated? Last week, Sakana AI Labs announced the creation of an "AI scientist" – an artificial intelligence system they claim can make scientific discoveries in the area of machine learning in a fully automated way.
Using generative large language models (LLMs) like those behind ChatGPT and other AI chatbots, the system can brainstorm, select a promising idea, code new algorithms, plot results, and write a paper summarising the experiment and its findings, complete with references.
Sakana claims the AI tool can undertake the complete lifecycle of a scientific experiment at a cost of just US$15 per paper – less than the cost of a scientist's lunch.
You get what you pay for.
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