WELCOME MACHINE WELCOME : A.I. NOTES

If AI tools manage to boost the productivity of research, the world would no doubt get the '' multiplier of human ingenuity '' predicted by Dr Hassabis.

But AI holds more potential still : just like the telescopes and microscopes let scientists see more of the world, the probabilistic, data-driven models used in AI will increasingly allow scientists to better model and understand complex systems.

Fields like climate science and structural biology are already at the point where scientists know that complicated processes are happening, but researchers so far have mainly tried to understand those subjects using top-down rules, equations and simulations.

AI can help scientists approach problems from the bottom up instead - measure lots of data first, and use algorithms to come up with the rules, patterns, equations and scientific understanding later.

If the past years have seen scientists dip their toes into the shallow waters of AI, the next decade and beyond will be when they have to dive into its depths and swim towards the horizon.

The World Students Society thanks The Economist.