Progression without progress
Summary
Progress in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to advance scientific discovery has made it increasingly realistic to envision automated "end-to-end science" (ETES) systems: integrated pipelines that could generate hypotheses, run experiments (in silico or robotic), analyze results, and produce publishable outputs with minimal human intervention. The critical question is not whether AI can "do" science but whether science-as a social, evolutionary system that generates trustworthy know
Content
# Progression without progress
*Published: 2026 May 21*
Progress in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to advance scientific
discovery has made it increasingly realistic to envision automated "end-to-end
science" (ETES) systems: integrated pipelines that could generate hypotheses,
run experiments (in silico or robotic), analyze results, and produce publishable
outputs with minimal human intervention. The critical question is not whether AI
can "do" science but whether science-as a social, evolutionary system that
generates trustworthy knowledge-survives the way AI does it.
DOI: 10.1126/science.aeh8945