AI Agents for Science, Censorship-Industrial Complex, and More

In the latest edition of The Download, Eric Schmidt and Suhas Mahesh argue that while AlphaFold, which won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, demonstrated AI's potential in science, it relied on expensive and time-consuming datasets. Instead, they advocate for AI agents that can model the iterative, contingent process of research, acting as generalists that digitally replicate human discovery. Another feature investigates the origins of the 'censorship-industrial complex' theory and its adoption by the Trump administration, as explored in an upcoming virtual Roundtables session. The newsletter also highlights a new Amazon data center in Texas that could become the US's biggest polluter, among other stories.