Noah Smith: AI is ushering in a golden age of science beyond 'a country of geniuses'
inductionheads · x · 2026-10-29
Noah Smith argues that 'a country of geniuses in a data center' actually undersells what AI will do for science.
- Years ago, researchers worried science was in terminal decline—'Are Ideas Getting Harder to Find?', declining disruption in papers and patents, low-hanging fruit already picked.
- Since AI arrived, signs of acceleration are mounting: Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark cited multiple data points in an IMF lecture showing progress speeding up across fields in the last two years.
- Core claim: AI can do things even groups of human researchers can't, and a golden age of science is coming.
Related event: Noah Smith: AI Ushers in a Golden Age of Science(2 posts)→
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