Artificial Intelligence in Science: on the Threshold of a New Field of Knowledge?

Abstract

At the Artificial Intelligence for Science: Synergy of Achievements panel discus­sion at the III Congress of Young Scientists that was held in 2023, the usage of AI technology was analyzed on the interdisciplinary level (Biology, Physics, Engineering, Political Science and Philosophy). In this paper, we have analyzed the functions of artificial intelligence in science at all stages of a scientist’s work, from hypothesis formulation to experimentation and scientific communi­cation. Previously advanced scientific tools were concentrated in state-funded research centers. The emergence of the artificial intelligence (AI) and super­computers is changing this paradigm: research and development often turn out to be in the hands of private companies. This state of affairs can be compared to a situation where half of the best modern microscopes would be in profit-driven organizations. The rapid development of AI has led to an intensive pene­tration of new technologies into scientific research, but at the same time has raised a number of concerns about their use. The new realities may cause a slowdown in scientific progress. In order to exclude this negative scenario, the authors of the article propose to consider the possibility of creating a sepa­rate scientific field of knowledge – Machine Epistemology, which would com­bine the philosophical approach and achievements in the field of AI. Such a so­lution, according to the authors, would allow us to most efficiently use new technologies to achieve progress in science and set ambitious tasks for hybrid interaction between scientists and artificial intelligence.