On the future of AI and the mathematical and physical sciences

Professor Jesse Thaler describes a vision for a two-way bridge between artificial intelligence and the mathematical and physical sciences — one that promises to advance both.

Curiosity-driven research has long sparked technological transformations. A century ago, curiosity about atoms led to quantum mechanics, and eventually the transistor at the heart of modern computing. Conversely, the steam engine was a practical breakthrough, but it took fundamental research in thermodynamics to fully harness its power. 

Today, artificial intelligence and science find themselves at a similar inflection point. The current AI revolution has been fueled by decades of research in the mathematical and physical sciences (MPS), which provided the challenging problems, datasets, and insights that made modern AI possible. The 2024 Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry, recognizing foundational AI methods rooted in physics and AI applications for protein design, made this connection impossible to miss.

In my own field of particle physics, for instance, researchers are developing real-time AI algorithms to handle the data deluge from collider experiments. This work has direct implications for discovering new physics, but the algorithms themselves turn out to be valuable well beyond our field. The workshop made clear that the science of AI should be a community priority — it has the potential to transform how we understand, develop, and control AI systems.

Of course, bridging science and AI requires people who can work across both worlds. Attendees consistently emphasized the need for “centaur scientists” — researchers with genuine interdisciplinary expertise. Supporting these polymaths at every career stage, from integrated undergraduate courses to interdisciplinary PhD programs to joint faculty hires, emerged as essential.

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