The 2024 Nobel Prizes for physics and chemistry were both won for AI related science, leading some to claim that AI will soon be making novel scientific discoveries on its own. Start-ups are already attempting to create 'The AI Scientist', which will one day 'fully automate scientific discovery'. And researchers at Imperial College argue AI will "usher in a new age of discovery to rival the golden age of the scientific method". But critics argue the scientific capability of AI remains unknown. Many argue that whilst it could speed up scientific discovery, it will never be able to identify scientific problems to focus on and initiate solutions.
Should we accept that AI will never be able to make novel scientific discoveries, and see the idea that it could as marketing hype and a misunderstanding of how computers work and what they are capable of doing? Or are we about to enter a new golden age and uncover the mysteries of reality with the help of AI?