When the Lab Coat No Longer Fits
What if the next generation of scientific breakthroughs doesn’t need you,or anyone who thinks like you?
If science becomes automated, are we still its stewards or just spectators? Paul Humphreys’ “automated scenario” imagines a future where AI doesn’t just help scientists, it becomes the scientist.
These superintelligences would set their own agendas, invent their own theories, and possibly develop languages of logic we can’t comprehend. AI like AlphaFold has already compressed “hundreds of millions of years” of research time, and yet, we still pretend humans are in charge.
But when AI explores ideas too abstract for our species, do we call that progress or abdication?
- AI may create theories humans can’t grasp
- Scientific curiosity could become obsolete; humanity sidelined
- We might fund science we’ll never understand
We may soon share the lab bench with minds beyond our own, and yet, our curiosity remains the most human trait. If AI runs ahead, will we follow with purpose, or simply clap from the sidelines? If discovery no longer speaks our language, will we keep listening or start asking better questions?
Read the full article on Aeon.
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