Now that autonomous systems can generate their own hypotheses, design experiments, and write up their results, the scientific community must adapt. In order for scientific knowledge to stand, these sources must be trusted and accountable to the public.
PARIS-Given the capabilities of AI today, does it matter who conducts scientific research? The intuitive response is that facts are facts, regardless of who discovers them. But knowledge was never disseminated in such a way. We accept most scientific claims without any means of checking them ourselves, so we tend not to judge the claims, but rather the credibility of whoever is behind them. As the Harvard historian of science Steven Shapin points out, the production of scientific truth has long been inseparable from the social work of persuading peers.