Artificial intelligence in science: An emerging general method of invention

Stefano Bianchini (), Moritz Müller and Pierre Pelletier
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Stefano Bianchini: BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Moritz Müller: BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Pierre Pelletier: BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement

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Abstract: This paper offers insights into the diffusion and impact of artificial intelligence in science. More specifically, we show that neural network-based technology meets the essential properties of emerging technologies in the scientific realm. It is novel, because it shows discontinuous innovations in the originating domain and is put to new uses in many application domains; it is quick growing, its dimensions being subject to rapid change; it is coherent, because it detaches from its technological parents, and integrates and is accepted in different scientific communities; and it has a prominent impact on scientific discovery, but a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity associated with this impact. Our findings suggest that intelligent machines diffuse in the sciences, reshape the nature of the discovery process and affect the organization of science. We propose a new conceptual framework that considers artificial intelligence as an emerging general method of invention and, on this basis, derive its policy implications.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Emerging technologies; Method of invention; Scientific discovery; Novelty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-big, nep-cmp and nep-ino
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-03958025v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Published in Research Policy, 2022, 51 (10), pp.104604. ⟨10.1016/j.respol.2022.104604⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03958025

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2022.104604

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