Abstract:
The Second International Conference of Artificial Intelligence Scientists (ICAIS 2026) was recently held in Zhongguancun, Beijing. At the meeting, Michael Levitt, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and professor of structural biology and computer science at Stanford University, delivered a speech, reviewing how AI has changed his research work and predicting changes in future scientific research.
Facing the AI era, Levitt is optimistic that the age gap is being bridged.
Levitt predicts that by 2056, young scientists with the help of AI agents may complete the lifetime work of his generation of scientists in one year.
He also said that this prediction may not be radical enough, and the future efficiency improvement may be far more than 30 times.
This change may also affect the age advantage of scientists. Levitt pointed out that older researchers have long-term accumulated knowledge and experience, while younger researchers have more energy to explore new fields.
AI has the opportunity to narrow the gap between the two, making it easier to translate experience into practical actions, and allowing young researchers to enter complex research work faster.
He joked humorously: "An old man with an AI agent may be as powerful as a young man without an AI agent." When he was 70, he decided not to teach students anymore, but now, AI has given him a second spring in scientific research.
In the face of today's era of drastic changes, Levitt particularly emphasized the survival law of the biological world: "It is not the survival of the fittest, but the survival of the diverse."
Therefore, the safety of AI models also relies on diversity. In his view, the coexistence of multiple models such as DeepSeek, Kimi, Claude, ChatGPT, etc. is the guarantee for humans to use AI safely.
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