AI News Monitor

Built with Gemini 2.0, Google’s AI co-scientist can accelerate research and scientific discoveries.

Tech giant, Google, has developed a new AI platform, called AI co-scientist, that will help scientists rapidly conduct biomedical research.

Google developed the new tool through a partnership involving researchers from Google Research, Google DeepMind, Stanford University, and Imperial College London.

AI co-scientist is designed to think like researchers. It will generate, review, and debate proposals for scientific research based on the input of the researcher. The tool does not automate the research process. The scientist is still very much in the driver’s seat.

Alan Karthikesalingam, scientist at Google DeepMind, says that Google’s intention is to have an AI tool that will essentially “give scientists superpowers.”

In a test, the AI platform was able to explore scientific questions, examine the available evidence, and propose the same hypotheses that human scientists did. However, it had taken the human scientists ten years to conduct the research. Google’s AI co-scientist did it in two days. By incorporating this tool in their research process, scientists can break new ground at an accelerated pace.

This development comes at a time when tech companies are investing heavily in AI, believing it will transform industries across the globe. Big tech’s vision is shared by innovators worldwide. This includes researchers at Imperial college London, who believe Google’s new tool will “supercharge science.”

“The world is facing multiple complex challenges, from pandemics to environmental sustainability and food security. To address these urgent needs means accelerating traditional R&D processes,” says Professor Mary Ryan, Vice Provost at Imperial College London. She believes that with AI, R&D efforts can get a much needed boost.

Google’s AI co-scientist is only the latest example of AI contributing to the advancement of knowledge, particularly in medical science. Last week, a Chinese research team revealed a new AI model that can help create new antimicrobial peptides (tiny proteins) to fight drug-resistant germs.

Interestingly, Imperial College London is heading the Fleming Initiative, which also focuses on developing solutions to drug-resistant microorganisms. Experts under the initiative believe that with Google’s new co-scientist, their work in this area can develop much faster.