Discoveries without Understanding?

Speaker: Claire Malone

As artificial intelligence (AI) tools become embedded in scientific research - analysing data, proposing hypotheses, even writing papers - we are beginning to rely on systems that may lead us to answers faster and more efficiently than ever before.

But what happens when we don’t understand precisely how those answers were reached? Can science, which has long valued explainability and transparency, embrace a collaborator that often produces results without fully revealing how they were reached?

Despite their impressive results, the use of these AI tools raises some profound philosophical questions: Is AI merely extending the power of human curiosity - or is it reshaping it? Can an algorithm that finds patterns really discover something new? Or is AI at its most powerful when it works in tandem with human scientists, combining machine speed with human judgment, creativity, and doubt? If discoveries could come from systems we do not fully understand, what does it mean to ‘have trust in science’?

Join science communicator Claire Malone, a leading voice on the intersection of AI and ethics, as she examines the issues.

This event is presented by the .

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Host or Publisher York Festival of Ideas