Sony's head of AI research wants to build robots that can win a Nobel Prize

AI and Machine Learning systems have proven a boon to scientific research in a variety of academic fields in recent years. They've assisted scientists in identifying genomic markers ripe for cutting-edge treatments, accelerating the discovery of potent new drugs and therapeutics, and even publishing their own research. Throughout this period, however, AI/ML systems have often been relegated to simply processing large data sets and performing brute force computations, not leading the research themselves. But Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, CEO of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, has plans for a "hybrid form of science that shall bring systems biology and other sciences into the next stage," by creating an AI that's just as capable as today's top scientific minds. To do so, Kitano seeks to launch the Nobel Turing Challenge and develop a AI smart enough to win itself a Nobel Prize by 2050.