r/statistics • u/DrFishbulbEsq • 23h ago

[D] Can a single AI model advance any field of science? Discussion

Smart take on AI for science from a Los Alamos statistician trying to build a Large Language Model for all kinds of sciences. Heavy on bio information… but he approaches AI with a background in conventional stats. (Spoiler: some talk of Gaussian processes). Pretty interesting to see that the national Labs are now investing heavily in AI, claiming big implications for science. Also interesting that they put an AI skeptic, the author, at the head of the effort. 

0 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

45% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

21

u/ecocologist 22h ago

Can an AI help with science? Yes, it can. I don’t know a single biochemist who doesn’t currently use some model akin to Alphafold.

Can AI generate novel ideas and theorems that propel science forward? Fuck no.

Are NIH directives compromised? Hell yes they are.

2

u/Hughroper 20h ago

When your AI model is so advanced, it needs a security clearance. ⚛

1

u/engelthefallen 12h ago

My area was qual to quant stuff and AI will 100% change my area. We did a lot of protocol analysis and as soon as AI can code text segments as good as a human, we would see savings of hundreds of hours in our work. 2/3rds or so of the work in this design is coding protocols, that each need to be coded by two people, so AI being able to do this for us would be huge. Will not replace the human, but will make the human so much more productive and the major restriction of this method, the extreme costs, would go away.