It was the eventual convergence of science and technology that ushered in a period of unprecedented human development. This synergistic relationship exploited two historical pillars of advancement: knowledge and invention. I’ve explored how the growth of knowledge drove invention throughout history, and how that combination elevated the standard of living. Now, in the age of AI, we must consider the possibility of a new era of human development. This time, the possibility space is very broad, as AI is likely to reimagine science.

If we play our cards right, with sensible regulation and proper support for innovative uses of AI to address science’s most pressing issues, AI can rewrite the scientific process. We can build a future where AI-powered tools will both save us from mindless and time-consuming labor and also lead us to creative inventions and discoveries, encouraging breakthroughs that would otherwise take decades.

Eric Schmidt – This is how AI will transform the way science gets done

That quote is from a recent article authored by Eric Schmidt, Co-Founder of Schmidt Futures, Former CEO & Chairman of Google. Mr. Schmidt describes a scientific process that remains the same: conduct background research, identify a hypothesis, test it through experimentation, analyze the collected data, and reach a conclusion. But he also suggests that AI has the potential to revolutionize the steps in the process. He goes on to describe how this is already happening at each step in the scientific process.

Eventually, much of science will be conducted at “self-driving labs”—automated robotic platforms combined with artificial intelligence. Here, we can bring AI prowess from the digital realm into the physical world. Such self-driving labs are already emerging at companies like Emerald Cloud Lab and Artificial and even at Argonne National Laboratory.

Eric Schmidt – This is how AI will transform the way science gets done

Consider a future where scientific breakthroughs that address our biggest challenges happen on a regular basis. Can a digital twin of the earth help us address the climate challenge? Nvidia is already building an AI-powered digital twin for the entire planet called Earth-2. Pick a challenge facing humanity and chances are this latest iteration of scientific and technological convergence is likely to help address it at some level. While many seemed fixated on AI as an existential risk, there is a constructive path playing out before our eyes.