US, 16 Countries Back Kyoto Vision for AI-Driven Scientific Discovery

The United States and 16 other countries have endorsed a joint declaration calling for a new era of scientific discovery built around artificial intelligence, advanced computing and new models for funding and organising research.

The Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science was endorsed at the 23rd annual meeting of the Science and Technology in Society Forum in Kyoto, Japan, where participating governments agreed to expand access to what the declaration describes as “super intelligence” for scientific research.

The vision argues that increasingly capable AI systems could transform how experiments are designed, conducted and analysed, allowing researchers to automate experimentation at a scale that could open new areas of scientific inquiry.

Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, led the US delegation at the meeting.

“The way we make scientific discoveries has changed,” Kratsios said, describing the declaration as a call to adapt research institutions to that shift.

The declaration calls for changes to how scientific research is funded and organised, including greater use of long-duration research awards, rapid grants, prizes and challenge-based funding. It also encourages new institutional models that give researchers different levels of autonomy and resources.

The countries also backed wider integration of AI into scientific workflows and called for researchers to have greater access to AI tools, scientific datasets, computing infrastructure and experimental facilities.

The vision places particular emphasis on developing scientific talent, calling for greater investment in students and early-career researchers and expanded opportunities for hands-on technical training, doctoral programmes, fellowships and partnerships between academia and industry.

The agreement follows a broader effort by the US administration to reshape its approach to scientific research. In July, Kratsios presented President Donald Trump with a report titled Science: A New Golden Age, which proposed changes to how US government agencies conduct, finance and assess research and development.

The Kyoto Vision was endorsed by Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Source: FSX Business News