How should an AI-assisted scientific discovery be evaluated?
Separate what was observed, what mechanism was proposed, what evidence tested it and whether any application was established. Examine prior work, the division of human and AI labor, rejected candidates and resource use. Match confidence to the actual evidence rather than treating autonomy or search scale as proof of validity.
Answered in
Claude’s Enzyme Discovery: The Evidence Ladder Behind an AI Science HeadlineAnthropic reports a new enzyme-system finding. The important questions concern novelty, human contribution, validation and what remains unknown.
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