AI researcher reflects on losing her scientific identity as industry culture erodes autonomy
mariyaivasileva · x · 2026-10-16
AI researcher Mariya Vasileva publishes a long personal essay, "Becoming a stranger in my own field," on losing faith in AI research culture after a decade in the field.
Key points
- The social contract is shifting: in 2015-2020 industry research (the Google Brain / early OpenAI / early DeepMind era), research scientists were expected to pose open questions, de-risk ambiguous directions with prototypes, interpret evidence, and communicate findings — with research taste built through mentorship, critique, and struggle.
- Deskilling and alienation: the accumulated knowledge and judgment that once defined becoming a better scientist are increasingly decoupled from what organizations actually reward, eroding intellectual autonomy.
- The author questions whether the kind of scientist she spent years becoming still has a place in the field, and invites debate.
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