Cambridge researcher Dr. Miles Cranmer has been named one of 28 recipients of the AI2050 fellowship from Schmidt Sciences. The fellowship supports researchers working on projects aimed at ensuring artificial intelligence brings significant benefits to society.
The AI2050 programme funds efforts to address key challenges in AI, such as building advanced AI scientists, creating safer and more trustworthy models, and enhancing the use of AI in biological and medical research. This year’s cohort includes 21 early-career fellows and seven senior fellows, who will share $18 million in funding over three years. The programme now has a total of 99 fellows across eight countries and 42 institutions.
Dr. Cranmer serves as Assistant Professor of Data Intensive Science at the University of Cambridge, with appointments in both the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and the Institute of Astronomy. His research focuses on making sense of how AI models trained on physics data can sometimes outperform existing scientific theories, despite scientists not fully understanding how these models reach their conclusions.
As part of his fellowship, Cranmer plans to extend his work to large-scale general models similar to widely known language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini but focused on scientific data instead of text. He aims to uncover new mathematical concepts and physical laws that could explain why these AI systems make superior predictions.
“AI models trained on physics are finding patterns our theories miss,” said Cranmer. “We can see that these models work, but it's not always clear what they’re learning. What's more, the larger AI models get, the better they seem to do this! This funding from Schmidt Sciences will help us figure out what they've learned that science is missing.”
Eric Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Sciences with Wendy Schmidt, commented: “AI is underhyped, especially when it comes to its potential to benefit humanity. The AI2050 fellowship was established to turn that potential into reality – by supporting the people and ideas shaping a healthier, more resilient, and more secure world.”
Mark Greaves, executive director of AI2050, added: “In four years, the AI2050 fellows have created a deep sense of community that we are grateful to be able to grow each year. We trust that the network they’ve created will remain a source of inspiration and support throughout their careers as they advance AI for the benefit of all.”