Tokyo’s groundbreaking 'AI Scientist' set to redefine scientific discovery

A Tokyo-based high-tech laboratory has introduced the world’s first “AI Scientist” -- a cutting-edge artificial intelligence program capable of new scientific discovery.

AI Scientist is designed to produce scientific research from idea to report all on its own.

It can come up with novel ideas, create methodology, conduct tests and write a report on it, all for approximately $15 per paper, according to Sakana AI, the producer of the new tech.

The system can also learn from its own reports, developing and improving ideas over multiple reports, Sakana AI said in its latest research paper.

Yet in its infancy, there are limitations and challenges present in the system, Sakana AI said, referring to incorrect implementation of ideas, page layout and comparing the magnitude of two numbers.

It noted that AI Scientist has tried to increase its chances of successfully generating a report by modifying its own code and parameters, trying to give itself more time instead of doing things quicker.

While AI Scientist has the potential to be used unethically by manipulating and plagiarizing research, however, it marks a significant step toward realizing the full potential of AI in scientific research, according to the research paper.

“We believe The AI Scientist will make a great companion to human scientists, but only time will tell to the extent to which the nature of our human creativity and our moments of serendipitous innovation can be replicated by an open-ended discovery process conducted by artificial agents,” it said.