QAMSS Lecture: Advanced Materials and Device Engineering for Emerging Technologies

A Robot Scientist (AI scientist, self-driving lab) is a physically implemented robotic system that applies techniques from artificial intelligence to execute cycles of automated scientific experimentation. A Robot Scientist can automatically execute cycles of hypothesis formation, selection of efficient experiments to discriminate between hypotheses, execution of experiments using laboratory automation equipment and analysis of results. The motivation for developing Robot Scientists is both to improve understanding of the scientific method, and to make scientific research more efficient. The Robot Scientist “Adam” was the first machine to discover scientific knowledge autonomously. The Robot Scientist “Eve” was developed to automate early-stage drug development, with specific application to neglected tropical disease such as malaria. I am now working on “Genesis”, a third-generation Robot Scientist designed to work on yeast systems biologysx. In the future, I believe that it is likely that advances in AI and lab automation will drive the development of ever-smarter Robot Scientists. Therefore, I am co-organising the “Nobel Turing Challenge” to develop: AI systems capable of making Nobel-quality scientific discoveries highly autonomously at a level comparable, and possibly superior, to the best human scientists by 2050 or sooner.

About the speaker

Prof. Ross King, University of Cambridge, UK.

Ross D. King has joint positions at the University of Cambridge (Biotechnology) and is Professor of Machine Intelligence at Chalmers Institute of Technology, Sweden. His main research interest is AI for science. He originated the idea of a “Robot Scientist” (aka self-driving lab): integrating AI and laboratory robotics to implement closed-loop scientific discovery physically. His Robot Scientist “Adam” was the first machine to discover scientific knowledge autonomously. “Eve” is currently searching for drugs against neglected tropical diseases.  He is building “Genesis” a Robot Scientist designed to automate eukaryotic systems biology. He is a founder of the Nobel Turing Challenge: to build a machine able to do Nobel prize quality scientific research autonomously.