"If artificial intelligence takes over, some argue, there's little point in studying physics or any science. AI could be doing half your job before you even get your degree. But that argument ignores why people study science in the first place. It's to figure out new things, to ask questions uncurious bots would never dream of. Humans love that whole problem-solving process. It's why they like to get the sides of Rubik's cube to match."
"The second thing to think about is that AI is a tool. Scientists have been using AI to help them understand things for a while now. For instance, consider a giant particle accelerator (like the one at CERN in Switzerland). While it's running, it generates tremendous amounts of data. Using machine learning, scientists can process vast amounts of information to look for patterns that might take a human an eternity to go through."
People study science to discover new things and to ask questions that uncurious machines would never pose. The problem-solving process provides intrinsic human satisfaction beyond efficiency. Artificial intelligence functions as a tool that can process vast datasets and perform repetitive analyses far faster than humans. Combining AI and human insight enables pattern recognition at scale while preserving human creativity and judgment. Political debates that judge research solely by immediate return on investment can mischaracterize scientific aims and damage public trust. Sensationalized examples, like claims about creating "transgender mice," can be used to discredit research and terminate grants, undermining long-term discovery. Historical cases demonstrate that practical benefits often emerge unpredictably from basic research.
Read at WIRED
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