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Google launches its co-scientists, based on Gemini 2.0
This new AI system will aid scientists to create novel hypoteses and research plans
Isabella V19 February 2025

 

Google has launched an innovative AI-based tool called AI co-scientist, designed to help scientists generate new research hypotheses, synthesize information, and create experimental plans. Based on the Gemini 2.0 platform, the system is designed to accelerate scientific discovery while maintaining human intervention in decision-making.

Key points:

  • AI co-scientist is a Gemini 2.0-based system that helps scientists generate hypotheses and research plans.
  • The system is designed as a collaborative tool and not as an automatic solution.
  • Its strength lies in continuous self-improvement through feedback between specialized agents.
  • It has been successfully tested in biomedical applications, including drug repurposing and antimicrobial resistance.

Google has launched a new AI system called "AI co-scientist", designed to assist scientists in formulating hypotheses and research plans, thus accelerating scientific and biomedical discovery. The system, which is based on the powerful Gemini 2.0 platform, is designed to support experts in generating new and testable ideas, analyzing the vast amount of scientific data and proposing experimental approaches. The main innovation lies in its ability to integrate human scientific reasoning with the computational power of AI, creating a tool that does not automate the process, but enriches it, collaborating with the researcher.

AI co-scientist uses a network of specialized agents that work synergistically to achieve the research objective, operating in a continuous cycle of improving hypotheses and results. Each agent in the system has a specific role: from generating new hypotheses to reflecting on them, from evaluating to classifying data, up to an evolution process that progressively improves their quality. The system is designed to be flexible and adaptable, allowing scientists to interact directly with the AI, providing feedback and refining results collaboratively.

In testing the AI ​​co-scientist, researchers have used the system to tackle complex problems, such as drug repurposing and the discovery of new therapeutic targets. The system has shown a high capacity to analyze large volumes of pre-existing data, formulating new and often surprising hypotheses. A significant example is the repurposing of drugs for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, where the AI ​​co-scientist suggested new therapeutic candidates that were subsequently validated in the laboratory, demonstrating the efficacy of already existing drugs against new diseases.

The versatility of the system has also extended to research on antimicrobial resistance, with the AI ​​co-scientist proposing innovative hypotheses on bacterial gene transfer, helping to reveal evolutionary mechanisms that had eluded traditional research. This ability to generate new and useful ideas is not limited to laboratory experiments alone, but also extends to the synthesis of information from scientific sources, creating a broader and more up-to-date research landscape, for the benefit of the scientific community.

Despite its successes, the system is not without limitations. The need for continuous monitoring by scientists, the management of information from different sources, and the validation of the results obtained are some of the challenges that remain open. However, the potential of AI co-scientist as a tool to support scientific research is indisputable, with implications that could extend to many sectors, from biomedicine to physics, to environmental sciences.

In the future, Google plans to expand access to the system, involving researchers through a program of selected tests, in order to collect feedback that will help further refine the system. Progress in these assistive technologies could represent a turning point in the collaboration between science and AI, accelerating the discovery of solutions to complex problems that affect our society.

Google’s AI co-scientist system is thus charting a new path in the integration of AI into scientific research processes, demonstrating its potential to amplify scientists’ cognitive abilities and make the discovery process faster and more efficient.