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Tangential but this article got me thinking. Are we going to see less publicly shared science? With private actors or governments restricting access to AI reso

Tangential but this article got me thinking. Are we going to see less publicly shared science? With private actors or governments restricting access to AI resources to a few scientists and keeping new knowledge to themselves. Advancing science in the open was the best strategy when there was real advantage to share the load with every brain on the planet willing to give a try at science, but if a computer can match or surpass the collective output of the entire human scientific community the equation will change. It's a sad outlook.

accurrent 3mo ago
The intelligence is only one part of the story. People need to actually go out there and do experiments. Science is not only theory, but also experimental. The best science happens when experiments show that a previously held assumption was not true. Eg the Michaelson Morley experiment where the assumption of ether was disproved. While AI is an incredibly powerful tool, it does not replace the act of observation. Thus Im sure we will still have scientists in the future and some degree of open science. There are experiments out there that by nature of their complexity need massive public coordination (CERN for instance) which in turn benefits from openness. What is going to suck though is the ladder for juniors. We dont start out by working on big ticket problems, but usually early career researchers solve really tiny problems in a cheap way. The lowest bar for a cash strapped PhD student would be to contribute to some new theory in some way even if the student doesnt have access to equipment.
- lelanthran 3mo ago
  > People need to actually go out there and do experiments. Science is not only theory, but also experimental. For biosciences and physics, sure. For mathematics? I am skeptical that your assertion applies.
  - accurrent 3mo ago
    Ah I see your point, I took the word science to mean bio, physics, chemistry, etc. IMO mathematics is a different discipline and not one Id consider a science, rather I see it as the language with which we express science. If AI is somehow able to prove everything wouldn't it bypass Godel's incompleteness theorems?
aleph_minus_one 3mo ago
> to share the load with every brain on the planet willing to give a try at science This is what a lot of scientists love to tell themself or talk about in celebratory speeches. The truth is: a lot of science is kept behind journal paywalls, so that only "officially approved" (in the sense of: working at a university or an governmental research institute) scientists can easily access it.
- varjag 3mo ago
  You know how I read new papers back in 1994? By going to the library, finding one in bi-annual publication list and requesting it through the University system. And it better be necessary because the uni had to pay both the catalogue and each reprint of an article. The access is most certainly easier today.
  - aleph_minus_one 3mo ago
    This was a lot because of the technological restrictions of that time. Also be aware that the world wide web was actually conceived by Tim Berners-Lee for the exchange of information between scientists.
- rjsw 3mo ago
  People are working on using LLMs to regenerate experimental data from the text of journal papers.
  - Feathercrown 3mo ago
    Surely you understand that this is impossible in the general case?
    - rjsw 3mo ago
      I did try asking one of the PIs whether they were doing it to demonstrate that it doesn't work in order to get paper authors to provide their real data but didn't get a reply. Will be going to a conference at the end of the month where there will be several presentations on the use of LLMs for this.
toyg 3mo ago
It's not even just science. Anyone producing anything digital is now heavily incentivized to keep their wares away from the public internet, in a way we've not seen before. Drop any sample of your unique production online, and the AIs will obsolete you in days. That is a massive loss for people looking for inspiration and guidance.
armchairhacker 3mo ago
> if a computer can match or surpass the collective output of the entire human scientific community the equation will change Yes, but this is when someone reaches ASI and everything changes. For now, a good researcher can build off their discovery in a way their AI can’t.

accurrent 3mo ago

The intelligence is only one part of the story. People need to actually go out there and do experiments. Science is not only theory, but also experimental. The best science happens when experiments show that a previously held assumption was not true. Eg the Michaelson Morley experiment where the assumption of ether was disproved. While AI is an incredibly powerful tool, it does not replace the act of observation. Thus Im sure we will still have scientists in the future and some degree of open science. There are experiments out there that by nature of their complexity need massive public coordination (CERN for instance) which in turn benefits from openness. What is going to suck though is the ladder for juniors. We dont start out by working on big ticket problems, but usually early career researchers solve really tiny problems in a cheap way. The lowest bar for a cash strapped PhD student would be to contribute to some new theory in some way even if the student doesnt have access to equipment.

lelanthran 3mo ago
> People need to actually go out there and do experiments. Science is not only theory, but also experimental. For biosciences and physics, sure. For mathematics? I am skeptical that your assertion applies.
- accurrent 3mo ago
  Ah I see your point, I took the word science to mean bio, physics, chemistry, etc. IMO mathematics is a different discipline and not one Id consider a science, rather I see it as the language with which we express science. If AI is somehow able to prove everything wouldn't it bypass Godel's incompleteness theorems?

aleph_minus_one 3mo ago

> to share the load with every brain on the planet willing to give a try at science This is what a lot of scientists love to tell themself or talk about in celebratory speeches. The truth is: a lot of science is kept behind journal paywalls, so that only "officially approved" (in the sense of: working at a university or an governmental research institute) scientists can easily access it.

varjag 3mo ago
You know how I read new papers back in 1994? By going to the library, finding one in bi-annual publication list and requesting it through the University system. And it better be necessary because the uni had to pay both the catalogue and each reprint of an article. The access is most certainly easier today.
- aleph_minus_one 3mo ago
  This was a lot because of the technological restrictions of that time. Also be aware that the world wide web was actually conceived by Tim Berners-Lee for the exchange of information between scientists.
rjsw 3mo ago
People are working on using LLMs to regenerate experimental data from the text of journal papers.
- Feathercrown 3mo ago
  Surely you understand that this is impossible in the general case?
  - rjsw 3mo ago
    I did try asking one of the PIs whether they were doing it to demonstrate that it doesn't work in order to get paper authors to provide their real data but didn't get a reply. Will be going to a conference at the end of the month where there will be several presentations on the use of LLMs for this.

toyg 3mo ago

It's not even just science. Anyone producing anything digital is now heavily incentivized to keep their wares away from the public internet, in a way we've not seen before. Drop any sample of your unique production online, and the AIs will obsolete you in days. That is a massive loss for people looking for inspiration and guidance.

armchairhacker 3mo ago

> if a computer can match or surpass the collective output of the entire human scientific community the equation will change Yes, but this is when someone reaches ASI and everything changes. For now, a good researcher can build off their discovery in a way their AI can’t.