The scientist who seeks to create robots so smart they can win a Nobel Prize in 2050

Currently, there are countless robotic technologies that have made these systems a real support for humans, at the heart of scientific research. Thus, using what is called Artificial Intelligence (AI), researchers have succeeded in turning robots into real collaborators in the midst of the search for knowledge and projects for the good of humanity.

However, for what some are the top key, for others it is just one more step to get there. This is understood by Dr Hiroaki Kitano, executive director of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, who recently announced that he plans to create a “Hybrid form of science that will take systems biology and other sciences to the next level”; an AI with which to create scientific robots that join not only research as collaborators, but even as their leaders.

In fact, Kitano’s initiative is so ambitious that the idea is not just to create intelligent robots that conduct their own research, but that they are so good and so precious that they deserve to award a Nobel Prize to responsible AI.

The project, known as the Nobel Turing Challenge, was explained by Kitano in the journal Nature, under the name “Nobel Turing Challenge: Building the Engine of Scientific Discovery.”

“The hallmark of this challenge is to place the system in an open domain to explore meaningful discoveries rather than rediscovering what we already know or trying to emulate speculated human thought processes (…) The vision is to reshape scientific discovery itself and create an alternative form of scientific discoveryKitano explained last June.

Likewise, the computer scientist from Sony indicated that the importance of the Nobel Turing Challenge “It lies in the development of machines capable of making discoveries continuously and autonomously”.

“The AI ​​scientist will generate and verify as many hypotheses as possible, hoping that some of them can lead on their own to great discoveries or serve as the basis for major discoveries. At the heart of the system is the ability to generate assumptions comprehensively and to verify them effectively. “

However, as has happened throughout history after an announcement like the one made by Kitano, an alert has been activated around the world to find out what this investigation might cause. For several people, the fact that there is AI powerful enough to think for itself is a clear threat to society and human existence as it is known today.

Although the scientist assures that his AI “will continue to be a tool or a companion for human scientists, at least for the foreseeable future”, that was not enough to alarm some people by the “catastrophic” results that this project. and they called for the immediate suspension of this investigation.

“When AI scientists become sophisticated enough to handle complex phenomena, there are possibilities to discover things that human scientists do not immediately understandThis is Kitano’s response to his detractors. For the Doctor, the important thing is not to think about the negative of the situation (which may or may not be a reality), but of the benefits that the creation of a new brilliant spirit could bring to humanity and the planet. which manages to concentrate knowledge that even humans cannot.

For Hiroaki Kitano, no one knows if the answer to many scientific questions, like the cure for cancer or other diseases, could be in the mind of an artificial intelligence, so technology must be allowed to advance, always ensuring that it is used for the good of humanity.

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