How Well Does AI Conduct Research? Meet the Researcher Trying to Find Out

Jan. 8, 2025
Kyle Mittan, University Communications
AI-generated image of a robot in a lab.

For now, the answer is clear: AI cannot yet match humans in research. But the challenge is more nuanced, said Peter Jansen, an associate professor in the College of Information Science, who is finding ways to measure how effectively computers create new knowledge.

This image was generated by DALL-E using ChatGPT (https://chatgpt.com).

Peter Jansen, an associate professor in the College of Information Science, researches how well AI performs at scientific discovery compared with humans. For now, the answer is clear: AI cannot yet match humans in research. Plus, testing these AI capabilities is nuanced, Jansen says, "because we don't have the research methods to be able to actually know when a thing works or not."

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