How AI is helping the natural sciences

Collaborations across disciplines are growing, and artificial intelligence is helping to make joint working more effective.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a tool for researchers in other science and technology fields, forging collaborations across disciplines. Stanford University in California, which produces an index that tracks AI-related data, finds in its 2021 report that the number of AI journal publications grew by 34.5% from 2019 to 2020; up from 19.6% between 2018 and 2019 (see go.nature.com/3mdt2yq). AI publications represented 3.8% of all peer-reviewed scientific publications worldwide in 2019, up from 1.3% in 2011.

Five AI researchers describe the fruits of these collaborations, beyond journal publications, and talk about how they are helping to break down barriers between disciplines.