Microsoft Aims to use AI to Boost Scientific Breakthroughs

Can AI accelerate certain aspects of the scientific process? Microsoft seems to believe so.

During the company’s Build 2025 conference on Monday, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Discovery, a platform that leverages agentic AI to “revolutionize the [scientific] discovery process,” as stated in a press release shared with TechCrunch. Microsoft Discovery is described as “extensible” and capable of managing specific science-related tasks “from start to finish.“

Microsoft Discovery is an enterprise-level platform that accelerates research by using agentic AI to transform the discovery process, from knowledge reasoning to hypothesis creation and analysis. It enables scientists to collaborate with specialized AI agents for faster, scalable, and more accurate scientific outcomes through advanced AI and supercomputing.

AI Labs Pushing the Boundaries of Scientific Discovery

Microsoft is one of several AI labs optimistic about the potential of AI in science. Earlier this year, Google introduced an “AI co-scientist,” which the company claimed could assist scientists in developing hypotheses and research plans. Anthropic, OpenAI, and other organizations like FutureHouse and Lila Sciences have also argued that AI tools could significantly speed up scientific discoveries, especially in the field of medicine.

However, many researchers currently view AI as not particularly valuable in steering the scientific process, mainly because of its unreliability.

The Challenge of Developing an “AI Scientist“

One of the challenges in creating an “AI scientist” is predicting the countless unpredictable factors. While AI could be useful in tasks that require broad exploration, such as filtering through a large range of possibilities, it remains uncertain whether it can perform the kind of innovative problem-solving that results in genuine breakthroughs.

So far, the results from AI systems created for scientific purposes have been largely disappointing.

In 2023, Google said around 40 new materials had been synthesized with the help of one of its AIs, called GNoME. But an outside analysis found not even one of those materials was, in fact, new. Meanwhile, several firms employing AI for drug discovery, including Exscientia and BenevolentAI, have suffered high-profile clinical trial failures.

Microsoft surely hopes that its initiative will succeed where previous efforts have fallen short.

Read the original article on: Techcrunch

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