OECD: Artificial intelligence and machine learning in science. In: OECD STI Outlook 2018

Finding solutions to many of the world’s major challenges requires increasing scientific knowledge. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to increase the productivity of science, at a time when some evidence suggests that research productivity may be falling. This chapter first outlines the three key technological developments driving the recent rise in AI: vastly improved computer hardware, vastly increased availability of data and vastly improved AI software. It then describes the promises of AI in science, illustrating its current uses across a range of scientific disciplines. Later sections raise the question of explainability of AI and the implications for science, highlighting gaps in education and training programmes that slow down the rollout of AI in science. The chapter finishes by envisioning a future in which increasingly intelligent AI systems, working with human scientists, help address society’s most pressing problems, while expanding scientific knowledge.