Speaker
Prof. Dr. Tristan Bereau (ITP, Heidelberg University)
Title of Talk
When answers become cheap: what AI changes in physics research
Abstract:
Within three years, large language models have gone from fabricating more than half of the references they cite to achieving gold-medal scores at the International Mathematical Olympiad and, under expert supervision, completing a calculation in effective field theory in two weeks rather than months. Here, we trace this development through recent cases in mathematics and theoretical physics, and ask at each step which part of the research process the model took over. Execution has become abundant, verification is only partly mechanised, and understanding remains scarce. We argue that the purposes of research, from understanding nature to training people and the joy of doing physics, remain largely intact; what changes is how credit is assigned and which skills are valued.
Venue
Physikalisches Institut, INF 226
Goldene Box
Schedule:
Talk: 16:30 – 17:15
Questions & Discussion: 17:15 – 17:30
Pizza & Drinks: 17:30
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